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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23873716">Heroes and Hive Magic</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Logar3/pseuds/Logar3'>Logar3</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Midoriya's Many Destinies [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Destiny (Video Games), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Dimensional Dopplegangers, Eris is having a constant crisis, Even when he wields Hive Magic everyone can't help but like Izuku, F/M, Hive magic, Magic-User Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, Mina - Ochako - Shoto - Momo - Bakugou - Izuku are all Guardians in the Destiny world, Powerful Izuku Midoriya, Smart Midoriya Izuku, World Travel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:41:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,919</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23873716</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Logar3/pseuds/Logar3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Izuku was 8 years old, a mishap with a a classmates Quirk made him disappear from his homeworld.</p><p>At the same time, Eris Morn’s was having the worst day of her life as her fire team attacked Crota in the Hellmouth.</p><p>Neither knew it then, but that day would change both of their worlds futures.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Guardian Midoriya Izuku/Guardian Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Izuku &amp; Cayde-6, Midoriya Izuku &amp; Eris Morn, Midoriya Izuku &amp; Lord Shaxx, Ship is currently undecided</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Midoriya's Many Destinies [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809415</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>128</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>462</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Howdy!</p><p>I’ve been playing a lot of Destiny 2 while my laptop is dead, so I’m writing this on my phone! </p><p>(That’s why the chapter is shorter than my normal ones)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Our story starts with two young boys.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izuku Midoriya, a small, green haired boy with a seemingly weak Quirk, immunity to mental influences. It made him immune to mind control and telepathy, but had no other uses.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soma Eichiro, a lanky redhead who’s Quirk seemingly made things vanish from existence. He would touch an object, there would be a flash, and then the object would be gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both boys attended the same primary school, but hadn’t interacted before. The first time they had even spoken to each other was at a school camp when they were around 8 years old.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was on that camping trip that Izuku Midoriya vanished, disappearing from the world.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Darkness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everywhere around Izuku was black, no light whatsoever. He seemed to be standing in some sort of liquid, but he couldn’t tell what kind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Last thing he remembered, he had bumped into one of his classmates while they were bragging about their Quirk…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Did he get zapped by it or something? Was he dead? Or was he teleported somewhere?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He fumbled around in the dark until he found his backpack, the small bag filled with things like a torch, notebooks, and a Swiss Army knife his mum had given him as a gift for the camp. Flicking the torch on, he found himself in a small cavern, looking naturally formed by the water flowing through it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But that wasn’t all. The cavern continued forward for a bit, leading away from where he had appeared. He swept his torch around the room some more and saw something move along the floor. Taking a step towards it, he became intrigued when he saw it was a worm, but white, and larger than any worm he had ever seen before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now that he had walked forward a bit, he could see a soft green glow coming from a crack in the wall in front of him. Taking a rock from the floor, he smacked the cracked wall a few times, letting out a little cheer as it collapsed open. The gap was only just big enough for him to crawl through, and he dragged his bag through after him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He gasped as he turned away from the wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was in a large, arena like room, the architecture looking alien in nature. There were short pillars dotted on the ground in front of what looked like a stage at the back of the area. But what made him gasp was the enormous light green, glowing orb that was floating behind the area, and the creature that was standing on the stage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As tall as a building, with 3 eyes glowing the same green as the orb and wielding a sword the size of a school bus, Izuku knew that this creature was powerful. Every instinct in his body was </span>
  <em>
    <span>screaming </span>
  </em>
  <span>at him to go back into the wall and never come out, so that he would never have to see this monstrous creature ever again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, it seemed like he hadn’t been noticed by the creature. It’s head drooped slightly, as if it was sleeping while standing. Spotting a doorway to his right, he scurried towards it, wanting to get as far away from the being as possible. Something that big, something that… powerful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It shouldn’t exist.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eris Morn was not having a good day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nor was she having a good week, or month, or even year. Her entire being, every resurrection she had, was focused on making sure that the Hive were exterminated from the moon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And she couldn’t even say honestly that she knew it was working. They had been on the offensive against the Hive for almost an entire year now, and they just </span>
  <em>
    <span>never stopped coming. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That was why her fire team was descending into The Hellmouth. To find Crota, the Hive knight they suspected was in charge of the Hive.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were six of them. Herself, Eriana-3, Vell Tarlowe, Sai Mota, Toland and Omar Agah, all capable and powerful guardians, but even they were falling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eris! We need to move, now! We can’t stay pinned up here, or we’re done for!” Eris snapped out of her musings as Eriana-3 yelled at her, the sounds of gunshots and hive magic coming back into her awareness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She ducked under a fireball and fired her hand cannon at the acolyte that threw it, downing it in one shot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thrusting her hand out in front of her, she let solar light fill her hand as she threw a fusion grenade into a crowd of thralls, changing targets as she saw them burn.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were in a bad spot. Toland had gone missing about halfway down, Omar had died his final death after a pile of thrall had ripped apart his ghost, and Sai and Vell were wounded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t know how much longer they could last like this.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izuku was startled when he heard it at first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The screeching and the gunshots and the explosions (which he was very familiar with thanks to Kachaan).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He started to shiver as he heard shuffling around him, but he continued on upwards, towards the gunfire. If there was. weapon being fired, it meant that someone was here, and they might be able to help him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was about to round a corner when he heard someone, a woman he thought, screaming as a loud buzzing noise started. Hugging the wall, he peeked around the corner and saw the strangest thing he had seen in his life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of those creatures, with a crown-like head made from bone, was floating in the air with what looked like a humanoid robot in its right hand. The left hand was over its face as the creature chanted something in a language that made Izuku’s skin crawl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt his Quirk activate unconsciously, meaning that this chanting had some sort of telepathic aspect to it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Never before in his life had he been more thankful for his Quirk than when the creature finished its chanting, and the robot dissolved into blue dust, before even that vanished. Holding in a scream to avoid being the creature's next victim, he scurried over to the nearest wall, searching for another hole. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finding one that looked safe, he dove in and curled up against the wall, trying his best to hold in his sobs.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right before her eyes, Eris saw her best friend die.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She saw the Hive wizard sing a song of death and destruction at Eriana-3 and her ghost, and watched her dissolve before her eyes as she stuffed her fingers even further into her ears to block out the damned magic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And as the last remaining guardian of her fire team, with her own light and ghost gone, she ran. She had no destination, she was just running. She felt her prized hand cannon fall from its tattered holster, but didn’t care. It wasn’t worth going back for.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In her panic, she thought she saw a young boy dive into a gap in the walls, but that wasn’t possible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was it?</span><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Izuku and Eris survive the Hellmouth</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey!</p>
<p>Thank you to GotSh0cks for Beta reading this!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Eris felt like the universe was playing a cruel joke on her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was stranded in the depths of the Hellmouth with no communicator, no ghost, no light, and now? No gun.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That hand cannon she dropped? That was her only remaining weapon with ammo. Her auto rifle was out, and so was her rocket launcher. She had briefly considered heading back there for it, but with it being so close to Crota’s arena, she would probably die before she could even get near it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had been here for almost a year now and had completely used up her supplies almost four months in. Lacking the food that she needed to live now that her light was gone, she had been forced to make a choice. Eat the Hive she killed, or starve.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But, even she could say that the mission into the Hellmouth had reaped some benefits. The benefits were not in any way equal to the price paid to get them, but they were something. While she had lost her light, a small crystal she had stolen from a wizard afforded her some manner of regeneration, and she felt like she was starting to understand more about the magic the Hive used.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t know why. Maybe it was her close proximity to the crystal she stole? But, she was starting to understand some of what the Hive were saying as they sat and prayed, or what guards were talking about as they watched over a doorway. It wasn’t a proper language, more grunts and growls than true words, but she found herself able to listen and understand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Currently, she was listening in on a pair of acolytes as they walked past her current hiding space. They were talking about someone called ‘The Unthinking One’ and how another room of thrall birthing pods had been burned by them. Was there someone else down here that was trying to fight the Hive?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Could it be Toland?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She would have to look into this further.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku felt his Quirk activate as the Hive started another chant.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t know how long he had been in these tunnels, his torch had died a long time ago, his food had run out after that. He had spent many hours scouring the tunnels for safe spaces and materials, and to be honest? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was proud of what he had done.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed the rock that hid the entrance to his haven into position and moved to the other end of the cavern. A single green torch illuminated the small space, some of the only light Izuku had found in his time here.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He had stolen the torch a long time ago, and it still hadn’t gone out. Izuku would have assumed it was someone’s Quirk, if not for some of his most recent discoveries. He had been panicked for a while upon his arrival in this dark place, scurrying to and fro, searching for food and safety, too busy with survival to focus on anything else.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But now that he had settled, and was relatively safe, it gave him time to turn his focus on other matters. Like the fact that he was starting to understand whatever language it was that the creatures spoke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was a few words at first, or at least, he thought they were words. The occasional “pray” or “good” or “spell” were all that he heard at first, but recently, after he had started </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to understand it more, the words and writings seemed to reveal their meanings to him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>During one of his searches, he had come across a room filled with what he assumed to be jewelry and each piece had glowing green runes etched into it. To his surprise, he was able to translate some of the runes, even if he didn’t really like what he read.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Some of them spoke of turning the sounds of pain from other creatures into power, some about turning your anger into fire, or reversing injuries through sheer force of will.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was when Izuku realized something. All the talk about spells, the runes, the chanting. He realized what they were doing. He grabbed as many amulets and necklaces and helmets as he could carry silently, and sprinted back to his haven.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>These creatures were using </span>
  <em>
    <span>Magic.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>From the Journals of Izuku Midoriya: The Hive Species and How to Hunt Them #1</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>From what I have seen during my searches of the tunnels, there seem to be around six or seven different types of creatures that live down here, excluding the large one in the Orb Chamber.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>First, there are the small, thin ones that don’t wield any weapons. From what I can tell, these creatures are called </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Thralls’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and they seem to be less intelligent than the other types. On their own, they are practically harmless when taken by surprise, but in a pack, they can be deadly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tips for hunting: Isolate the smallest and slowest, and attack from above. They have hunched spines, making it nearly impossible for them to look directly up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>From the Journals of Izuku Midoriya: The Hive Species and How to Hunt Them #1</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Possibly the most common species of the Hive are the ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Acolytes</span>
  </em>
  <span>’. More intelligent than the thrall, they seem to be able to take more hits than a thrall can, and are capable of wielding weapons.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They are also capable of casting some basic magic, usually in the form of fireballs or to fuel their weapons. Their weaponry usually ranges from blasters, which fire purple bolts of energy, to boomers which fire green explosive shots.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tips for hunting: Similar to thralls, they have trouble looking upwards, so attacks from above are preferred. With their ranged capabilities, getting up close is very important.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With their magical capabilities, it’s good to use ranged weapons on individual targets, and to avoid groups.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eris froze as she heard it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sounds of gunfire, screaming Hive, lightning slamming into the ground, throwing sparks down the hallway, and the harrowing noise of unleashed Void energy, like static blocking out sound, heat, and light.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was the first time since she had lost her light, almost seven years ago now, that she had heard the sounds of it being used, and she knew that if she could go to the guardians using it, she might be able to get out of these godforsaken tunnels.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As she moved towards the sounds, she got more and more anxious. She was getting closer and closer, but she knew where she was headed at this point.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had avoided this room for months at this point, as the last time she came near here, she had almost lost her arm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was the Charmsmith’s quarters. The room where the wizards and acolytes of the Hellmouth created their charms and runes for their magics.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And apparently there were guardians in there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arriving at the doorway, she saw an odd sight. Two guardians were on the ground unconscious, with one standing over both, firing into a crowd of thralls.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was a losing battle, the last guardian ran out of ammo in their magazine. And was swarmed by the thrall, their grenade only buying them a few seconds.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And that was when her suspicions were confirmed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku didn’t know how long he had spent in these tunnels, but he knew he was much older than when he was when he first got there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was heading towards gunfire, not recognizing the sounds as Hive weapons, meaning that it was probably someone else! Izuku hadn’t seen anyone else in a while.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dressed in clothes made from cobbled together scraps taken from the few wizards he had killed over the years, he pulled his favorite weapon out, a revolver he had found during his first few days in the tunnels.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chanting in a language he had spent the last six years learning, pain spiked up his arm as green light filled the clip as bullets formed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Firing off a few shots as he continued chanting, he watched as the thrall dissolved into green dust as the special bullets did their job.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He yelled out a word that clashed with the hearing of everything in the room, and the floor of the entire room in front of him burst into emerald spikes of energy, thralls collapsing into the ground as others were impaled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling the drain of such powerful magic on him, he turned to the trio of people he had just protected, noting the presence of another figure holding a green crystal, and fell to his knees.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked at the first humans he had seen in six years and gave them a small smile as he spoke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Greetings, Guardians! I’m gonna pass out now, can you get me somewhere safe please?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you all enjoyed this!</p>
<p>I'm having a lot of fun brainstorming ideas for this fic, so keep an eye out for C3, it should be coming soon!</p>
<p>If you like this, you should check out my profile for my other fics and one-shots!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You know how I said Izuku was gonna talk with the vanguard this chapter? You know, like a liar?</p>
<p>[The vanguard has a meeting about Eris and Izuku]</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to H3ctic for beta reading this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Last City, Earth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The last place that still stood strong after the collapse. The last place that humanity could survive in their solar system, with the dead Traveler floating over their heads. The home of the lightless, the Guardians, and the Vanguard.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, I get that Eris was one of your people Ikora, but do we know who the kid is?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde-6 sat with his feet up on the chair in front of him, spinning his hand cannon, the ‘Ace of Spades’ as he leaned back on the chair. To his right sat Ikora Rei, the Warlock Vanguard, and to his left sat Zavala, the Titan Vanguard.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ikora just frowned at him. “Unfortunately, at this moment, we are unsure. The fireteam that we sent down to destroy the Charmsmith’s quarters reports that he appeared out of nowhere and saved them by summoning green spikes out of the ground.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Furthermore, Eris Morn reports seeing traces of other human life in the tunnels during her captivity in the Hellmouth. She believes that this boy might have been down there with her the entire time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde let out a whistle. “Oh snap, kids been down there for what, six, maybe seven years? How the hell did he survive for so long?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zavala huffed. “I believe that it would be fairly safe to assume that this boy is not a guardian. We got some results back recently from some tests that indicate that the Hive have access to a spell or device that can pinpoint our light. If he was a guardian, even a young one, he would have been hunted down almost immediately.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde just shrugged. “So how did the little sucker survive? And how did he summon those spikes if he’s not a guardian?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ikora shook her head. “Do you know of any guardian that has green abilities, Cayde? By now we have to accept that the Travellers light is not the only source of paracausal power in this universe.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, the door to the meeting room slammed open, startling the Vanguard, who all dropped into combat stances, except for Cayde, who leaned too far back in his chair and tumbled to the floor. Standing in the doorway, a green crystal illuminating her face, was Eris.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She gave them a small bow, more a dip of her head than anything, and strode into the room. “Greetings, Vanguard,” she began, “Ikora summoned me, so here I am.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde let out a sigh as he jumped to his feet, wiping his hand over his forehead. “Woo! Scared the hell outta me there! You ever hear of knocking?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eris looked over at him for a moment, and he got his first good glimpse of her face from under her hood. Where her eyes would be, a black cloth sat over 3 small glowing circles, with a small amount of soft green smoke rising into the air.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She gave him another nod. “My apologies. One forgets such things when they have more pressing matters to deal with. I have not announced my arrival anywhere in quite a while.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zavala raised his hand at Cayde, a silent suggestion for him to drop it. He returned Eris’ nod. “Greetings, Eris Morn. It is good to have you back after so long. I am sure that you know why we have asked you here?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sitting down, Eris let her crystal float in front of her on the table and she nodded. “Yes, you wish to know about my time in the Hellmouth, and would like for me to give you what I know about the boy that was rescued alongside me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde nodded. “Yup, got it in one. Gotta say, the kids causing quite the tizzy up here in the tower, rumors all around about how he survived down there. Stories ranging from him being a Human-Hive hybrid to alternate universes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eris just glanced over at him, and if there wasn’t a piece of cloth in the way, Cayde would have seen her raised eyebrow. She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. “I will begin with what I know for sure, and tell you about my time in the Hellmouth, before moving onto my speculations about the boy.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eris took a deep breath, steadying herself, before she started to speak.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It began when Eriana-3 asked for my help…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku hissed as he felt the light hit his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quickly placing his hand over his eyes, he patted himself down with the other hand, noting that he had been stripped of his weapons, and was laying on a bed far comfier than the cot he had crafted for himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finding the scrap of cloth he was looking for, he tied it around his eyes, the cloth just thin enough to see through, but dark enough to block out the painful amount of brightness that was all around him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He heard someone speaking to him, and was confused at the language they were using. It was an odd mix of languages. It was like someone cobbled together English, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and a dozen other languages together with duct tape and string.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But after mastering the complexities of the hive tongue, it seemed simple to Izuku.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Greetings child, welcome to the Tower. You have been asleep for quite a while.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked to his right to see someone wearing long robes and a white mask. The man gave him a small bow. “My name is The Speaker, Mouth of the Traveller.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku nodded back to the man as he stretched out his shoulders, grimacing when his right arm flared up with pain again. “Izuku Midoriya, sir. If we’re doing titles, I guess the Hive used to call me ‘The Unthinking One.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku couldn’t see it, but the Speaker was giving him a curious look. “And pray tell, why would that be?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku just smiled for a moment, looking down at his hands as he clenched and unclenched them. “A story for when the rest of your leaders come to visit, or when they summon me. I think they are called… The Vanguard?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The speaker nodded. “Correct, Mr. Midoriya. If you would follow me, the Vanguard should be ready to see you soon.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku put his hand together in a praying motion and nodded, following the man.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, I look forward to meeting them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span><br/>Ikora looked down, saddened, and humbled by her friend’s story.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She gave the woman a deep bow, a hand over her heart. “I must express my deepest apologies Eris, for not finding you sooner.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eris looked like she was about to argue when Cayde spoke up. “Ikora, it’s not your fault. Everyone that went down there that day was marked KIA. You had no reason to think that she might have needed rescue.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He turned to Eris. “On that note: I can see why they call it the Hellmouth. That whole story sounded like a horror movie from before the collapse.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eris nodded. “You are correct with your observation, Cayde-6. The Hellmouth is not a place for the weak, or the faint of heart. Which brings me to my next point…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zavala put his hands together, resting his elbows on the table. “We must discuss what we will be doing with the child, now that he has shown off an unknown power. We must figure out how he obtained such abilities.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eris shook her head. “No, Zavala, his abilities are not unknown, merely rare and nigh unprecedented. There has only been one other human to use such powers, and he fell to the Hive’s corruption. I fear this child may have suffered similarly.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ikora’s eyes widened as she realized who Eris was talking about. “Please tell me you aren’t talking about Dredgen Yor! Are you saying that this child wields Hive Magic?!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde and Zavala seemed to panic slightly at that statement, before there was a knock at the door. They looked over in surprise to see the speaker enter the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He bowed to the vanguard. “Pardon the intrusion, Guardians, Eris. While your theory that he wields Hive Magic may be true, I can confirm that this boy is anything but corrupted. He is polite, seems extraordinarily genuine, and in fact, has requested to see you, as he is awake.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zavala nodded to the Speaker. “That is good. We wish to talk to the boy as well, there is much we need to discuss. Please send him in.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Speaker nodded and leaned back through the doorway. You may enter, Mr. Midoriya”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde had to stifle a giggle when he saw Izuku with the same cloth-covered eyes that Eris had, knowing that it would be disrespectful. Also Ikora would be sad with him and that was sort of like disappointing your mother. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The boy bowed deeply to the group, giving a small smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Greetings, Vanguard, I’ve been wanting to meet you and your people for a very long time…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you all enjoy!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Izuku and the Vanguard have a chat.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! Thank you to Mare for Beta reading this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Logically, Zavala knew that this boy wasn’t a threat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But as he entered the room, absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>reeking</span>
  </em>
  <span> of death and pain and </span>
  <em>
    <span>darkness</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he had barely noticed himself activating his “Ward of Dawn” and pulling out his rifle, leveling it at the boy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled on his light and formed the purple dome around the vanguards meeting table, shocking the others, except for Eris, who had stood up and backed away from the boy as well.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Zavala!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then, as quickly as it happened, he felt the presence around the boy vanish, like smoke in the wind. Eris seemed to calm down as well, looking visibly shaken as she sat back down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Where the boy stood, there was instead a large black sheet of </span>
  <em>
    <span>something,</span>
  </em>
  <span> with glowing green edges, something he felt he had seen before..</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Flashes of Hive knights hiding behind this very shield filled his mind as it dissipated, allowing the boy, who had somehow gotten hold of a hand cannon, to come into view, gun pointed at Zavala’s head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The boy kept his gun pointed at Zavala as he spoke. “I have no quarrel with you lightborn, but I will defend myself if need be. I came here expecting allies, maybe I should have done more research before assisting the guardians.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ikora stood up as the “Ward of Dawn” vanished, leaving purple mist over the table. “Zavala, I felt it too, but we mustn’t overreact. He has been through a very traumatic experience for an extended amount of time. We need to make his arrival pleasant.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was then that Eris spoke up, as the stand-off between Zavala and Izuku ended, both of them lowering their weapons.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Child, you are hurt. Why would you do that to yourself?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the vanguard checked over the boy and noticed the stab wound in the arm he held the Hand Cannon in, as well as the bloodstained dagger in his other hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mumbling something in a language that hurt everyone’s ears to hear, the wound closed slowly, and the knife was tucked away into his belt.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Power comes from pain, shattered one, whether it be other creatures or your own.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde gave the others a glance as they looked as confused as he felt, except for Eris, who acted like the boy had just imparted some ancient wisdom to them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a cough, and the group turned their attention to the Speaker, who had sat down at his own seat. “Mr. Midoriya, would you care to sit? We would like to discuss some things with you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku complied, grabbing a chair and sitting down on it. He glanced at the Vanguard, his eyes lingering on Zavala, before he cleared his throat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Vanguard of the Guardians, my name is Izuku Midoriya. I am here not only for my own goals, but to offer my help and services to the Lightborn.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever the Vanguard had been expecting, Izuku could guess it wasn’t that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Pardon? Did you just offer us assistance?” Ikora spoke softly and calmly, but Izuku could almost feel the confusion in her voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku nodded. “Correct, Warlock. As I suspect my fellow survivor has, I offer my knowledge and guidance to you as you endeavor to kill the Hive Prince.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eris nodded, not seeing any point in denying her own offer of assistance. “While I am sure that one day, the Hive Prince would fall even without my help, every day that he lives is a victory for the Hive and a chance for them to grow ever stronger. I intend to help speed the process along.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde grunted as he put his feet on the floor and leaned on the table, the “Ace of Spades” back in its holster. “That's good and all, but how exactly do you plan on helping us?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku gave him a look, one that Cayde couldn’t decipher thanks to the cloth over his eyes, and huffed. “I theorized that due to my young age you might dismiss me, but I was hoping to be wrong.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled out a small book, one that looked homemade. From what Cayde could tell, the bindings and leather cover looked like Hive skin. On the front was a green rune in the shape of what looked like a ‘v’.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Opening the book and laying it flat on the table, he spoke a word that sounded like chalk on a blackboard and tapped the holographic device in the center of the table. A glowing green line erupted from the pages and into the device, and it turned on, revealing a hologram of a thrall.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It moved as if breathing, and paced up and down the table. Izuku stood up and pointed at it. “Do you know how the body of a thrall works? The location of its vital organs, the spots to hit that will deal the most damage?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He continued as the hologram changed into the likeness of an acolyte. “Do you know the language of your enemy, the way they think, the abilities they have?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Another flash, and the hologram changed to a knight, wielding a cleaver that cut down so many guardians on the moon during the great disaster. “Are you capable of defending yourself from the enchantments and magic that surround the enemy and their weapons?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The hologram shifted once more, showing them the Hive Prince himself. The hologram of Crota was crouched down, his cleaver’s tip in the ground, surrounded by a faint green glow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then it shut off, and the lights from the room came back on, showing that Izuku had shut his book, and placed it back… somewhere. He took off the cloth covering his eyes, and the Vanguard was able to see that they were a vibrant emerald that seemed to almost glow with determination.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <b>
    <em>Because I do</em>
  </b>
  <span>. The Shattered One knows some of what I do, but even she could not stray as far into the Dark as I did, as she is not immune to the corruption as I am.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ikora, the first of her colleagues to recover from the enrapturing speech that Izuku had just given, spoke up. “And how exactly </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> you immune to the corruption? We’ve seen a human using Hive Magic before, but he eventually lost his mind, and then his humanity.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku hummed as he sat back down. “It’s a long story, and one that you will not believe. Due to a part of my physiology, no telepathic or mental attacks can harm me without me allowing them to.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eris smacked the table and stood up, her mouth slightly agape as she realized how he had survived in the Hellmouth for so long, even when he was a child. “You are immune to the Death song, and the whispers of the worms! How did you get such an ability!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku nodded, placing his hands on the table.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I got my ability when I was 4. It’s called a ‘Quirk.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span><br/>Bakugou growled as he completed his 200th push-up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was not having a very good day. Not only was he subjected to the extras at school waffling on about how they were going to be heroes, even with their d-lister sidekick level Quirks, but he  had also been attacked, earlier that day, by a living pile of goop that stank like absolute shit.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Standing up and stretching his shoulders out, he looked over to his desk to see if the download for the UA application forms had finished. His eyes briefly looked over the photo on his desk, of an 8-year-old Bakugou with his arm wrapped around the shoulders of his friend, Izuku Midoriya, before he shook his head and focused on the forms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t fuck anything up. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to go to UA. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to become an awesome hero, one that saved everyone by beating up all the shit-heads that threatened them. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to become #1.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And that meant that he had to work extra hard. He couldn’t slack off with his preparations for becoming a hero. After all…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t just doing it for himself anymore.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He had a promise to keep.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Izuku lecturing the Vanguard and Bakugou training for UA!</p>
<p>If you like this, check out my profile for all my other works!</p>
<p>See you all next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Izuku gets settled, and a few small time skips.</p><p>Then Izuku makes a major discovery</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys!</p><p>Thanks to Majigah for beta reading this!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Izuku had forgotten how good showers were.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t had the opportunity to clean himself properly for quite a while, the last time being after he discovered a cave pool that the hive hadn’t found yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After that, 90% of the water sources that he didn’t use for drinking water were either filled with thrall or larvae. And while he was fine with eating the Hive at this point, he didn’t like the idea of cleaning himself where they slept.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So as he was escorted to a small apartment―literally just 4 rooms, a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a small office―he had almost immediately ran into the bathroom to take a nice, long, hot shower.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had taken him turning the nozzle onto the highest pressure it had and the use of a scrubbing brush to get all of the grime and filth off of him, but he didn’t regret it. He felt so much lighter now, and with the amount of stuff that had been clinging to him, he might be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All in all, it took him about 30 minutes to clean himself off properly, and in that time, he had apparently been gifted some items, as he found a few parcels sitting on the bench in the kitchen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking down next to the bathroom door, he saw a simple set of black pants and a white dress shirt laid out for him, as well as some black combat boots. He put them on, feeling odd in such good quality clothing after spending so much time in rags, and went over to the bench.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were a few boxes, each with different symbols on them. There was a black crate with what Izuku knew was the vanguard symbol on it, filled with spare clothes, a writing pad (something Izuku had specifically requested), and some food to fill his fridge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From there, he didn’t recognize any of the symbols. There was a black and white box with an odd symbol on it, surrounded by a white circle being orbited by a smaller circle. Putting it to the side for now, he moved onto the next box.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This box was a deep blue, emblazoned with a logo that spelled ‘FWC’ in red, yellow, and white lettering. He briefly wondered what ‘FWC’ could mean, but put those thoughts aside as he reached for the last, and most fancy looking, box.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blood red with silver and gold highlights, this box looked like it would fit better in a king’s bedroom than a young boy’s kitchen. On the top, it was stamped with a white triangle with 3 red lines in the bottom right of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Placing them all on the floor and poking the button on the front to open them quickly, he peeked out from behind the bench, seeing what would happen. While he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be allies with the other humans (and blue people and robots?), he didn’t know who sent these packages, so he was going to be cautious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a small hiss as the lid opened, revealing soft blue smoke. After a few seconds of waiting where nothing exploded, he walked up to the trio of boxes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The black and white box held what looked like a cape, pitch black and emblazoned with the same logo from the box.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Underneath it was a sheet of paper with a message on it.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span>Greetings, Hivebane. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We here at Dead Orbit welcome you to the Last City, and hope that you enjoy our gift to you. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We look forward to your assistance with the current problems on the Moon, and your progress with your abilities.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Best wishes,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>&gt; Dead Orbit</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span><br/>
Izuku checked the other boxes, and found similar contents.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The “Future War Cult” and the “New Monarchy” along with “Dead Orbit” seemed to be factions of guardians and the lightless that had different values and goals.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izuku huffed as he pulled out the contents of the other boxes. He liked the aesthetic of the scarf/hood combo that the New Monarchy sent him, and he liked the fact that there was no cape.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grabbed the rest of the clothes out of the various boxes and put them in the cupboard of his new bedroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He laid down on the bed they had given him, and marveled at how </span>
  <em>
    <span>soft </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was. It didn’t take him very long to fall asleep, dreaming of a fight between Crota and All Might.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the best sleep he had ever had.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lord Shaxx! How you doing buddy? Listen, I got an idea, but I need your permission for it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shaxx gave Cayde a deadpan expression as he took his helmet off, having just finished a match in the crucible. There was an upstart faction that thought they could take him and his redguards, so he had gathered the squad and delivered a smackdown that would be talked about for… the next few days, at least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sat down at his desk and sighed. “Cayde, your ideas are always either semi-illegal, outright illegal, or utilizes some obscure loophole in the rules, making them just barely legal. So out with it, you need my permission, correct?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cayde smiled as he sat  down across from the titan, waving at the rest of the redguard as they went off to relax. “So, you heard about Izuku Midoriya right? The Hellmouth kid?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shaxx hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Yes, he caused quite a stir when he arrived. Zavala wont tell me everything, but I hear that he’s not exactly a… local.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cayde shrugged. “If Zavala won’t tell you, then it’s not exactly my place to either. But, and this is completely hypothetical, if there was a person from an alternate dimension that could safely wield Hive Magic, would you be interested in helping me train them with firearms?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shaxx hadn’t been expecting that. He knew that the boy was special, as he had been given one of the living quarters in the uppermost section of the tower, one usually reserved for the likes of the faction heads and the Speaker.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiled at Cayde. “I have to give it to you, my friend. You sure do know how to pique my interest. If he wants to, bring him to me tomorrow. I’ll whip him into shape right quick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cayde jumped to his feet and clapped Shaxx on the shoulder, smiling. “Sweet! I knew you’d say yes, never could resist a challenge, could ya, shaxxy?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shaxx laughed and clapped Cayde back, making the hunters knees buckle slightly as he smacked him on the shoulder. “Alright! I got some newbies to oversee, get out of here you scoundrel!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cayde ran over to the window and jumped out, double jumping right before he hit the ground to safely land in the courtyard below. Waving back at Shaxx, he started running towards the Vanguard meeting room, deftly dodging the people in the crowd as he did.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shaxx just chuckled and started prepping for tomorrow.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>
  <span><br/>
Izuku was liking the tower.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had spent around two or three months here already, and was enjoying not having to constantly be alert, fighting, or hiding. At least, whenever he wasn’t in the crucible. He had been a bit surprised when Cayde had approached him and offered proper weapons training with him and Lord Shaxx, but he was glad he accepted it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His little apartment had gotten a few new decorations during his time there, with things like a photo of him, Cayde, and Shaxx standing around his first target with all 10 shots on the bullseye, or the crucible trophy he got for winning a small tournament.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had filled a few better quality notebooks full of information on the hive, ranging from how their thought processes worked, to an accurate sketch of their anatomy with highlighted areas for maximum damage. Copies of these had been sent to the Vanguard for circulation to active guardians, and he was proud to see that there were more and more successful missions into the Hellmouth as time wore on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But his biggest project laid in wait in his office. A ring of stone that he had requested be taken from the inside of the Hellmouth itself. The hive used it as a sort of a transfer device, allowing them to enter their ships through the portals created by the runes on the ring.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Izuku had a different purpose in mind for it. He had shaved away the runes that told the portal where to go, and had been spending most of his free time reprogramming the destination.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But as the portal opened once again, he felt his Quirk activate. He sent one of the drones he had been using to test the portals through it, and saw a glittering palace hallway through it. Standing in the middle of it was what looked like one of the blue-skinned people, the ‘awoken’ Izuku thought they were called.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tapped on her head and made an ‘X’ with her hands, and Izuku understood as his Quirk pulsed again. Slowly, just in case he needed to put it back up quickly, he turned his Quirk down, allowing the presence of another to enter his mind. He kept it on slightly, only to protect himself from corruption, but allowing speech. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You are a truly interesting being, Izuku Midoriya, to be able to punch through the barrier and forge a path here without prior knowledge of this place…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izuku shivered as he heard the voice enter his mind. It felt like someone was rifling through his mind, searching for answers. It seemed almost… confused when it was unable to, due to Izuku’s Quirk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Truly fascinating indeed. Well then, onto business…” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What brings your gateway to the dreaming city, o’ visitor mine?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hoo boy, what has Izuku gotten himself into?</p><p>You’ll find out next chapter!</p><p>Thanks for reading! If you wanna see my other fics, check out my profile!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys!</p>
<p>Thanks to Mare for beta reading this!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Izuku shivered at those words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Even with his Quirk shielding him, he could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> the power behind them, as if the words alone could tear apart reality and put it back together again. And with his own abilities,  the way that he casts his magic, he knew that was entirely possible.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“To my knowledge, not even the vanguard and the guardians are aware of this place. So how does a child fumbling around with Hive runes have the luck and willpower to punch through one of the weak spots in my protective barrier?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The blue-skinned woman chuckled, but it looked wrong. It looked like someone was piloting the body like a puppet on a string. And Izuku swore that he could see something lurking in the shadows behind the woman.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku faced a dilemma. His drone didn’t have a speaker on it, so he couldn’t communicate with whoever this was, or at least the thing in control of the body. Which meant that to speak with them, he would have to enter through the mysterious portal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His curiosity had been piqued. This… thing was powerful in a way that no guardian he had met was. It spoke as if it knew reality could not hold it. He could just poke his head through and take a peek…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Movement.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He saw it on the camera just before he stepped into the portal. A large dragon  creature, or at least its face, came into view as he slammed his Quirk to full blast, the blue-skinned figure vanishing like smoke in the wind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His Quirk pulsed as the drone picked up loud noises, and he could see that the giant-dragon-thing was… chuckling? That was the closest thing Izuku could think of.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Using his datapad, he took a photo of the runes he used to get there, and flexed his will on it as he made a fist, closing the portal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His Quirk silenced immediately as he left the office in a hurry, looking for a drone with a communication module.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You wanted to see us sir?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nezu nodded as he waved Aizawa into the meeting room. Midnight came in behind him and sat to his right, with Present Mic on his left.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, please, sit down everyone! We have two things on our agenda for this meeting! And as usual, everything in this meeting is a secret of utmost importance. Please look in the drawers of your table for an NDA to sign.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This was a standard procedure for meetings at UA. Shota couldn’t even remember how many NDA’s he had signed after becoming a hero, there were just so many of them. He grabbed the document and signed at the bottom before handing it to Nezu and sitting back down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once everyone was done, Nezu spoke up. “Wonderful! For our first order of business, we will be discussing our new staff member this coming year, All Might, and some… accommodations we will be making for him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shota grunted as he glanced over to the man. While he at the very least respected All Might for his work as a hero, the amount of effort he had dedicated, he hated the fact that he played in the spotlight so much, making it harder for Underground Heroes such as him to avoid the media.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And now they were going to be making ‘accommodations’ for him. That probably just meant that he was going to basically pop in whenever he wanted, say a quick speech that most probably would  distract the kids from actual learning, and leave again, making his job even harder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Or at least, that’s what he thought before All Might, the strongest hero to ever live, the symbol of peace and justice… deflated. Like a balloon. Just… poof.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>On complete instinct, as his conscious brain was still reeling from the reveal, his head snapped over to glare at Hizashi and activated his Quirk, saving everyone in the room from a scream as loud as a jet engine.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, they got a regular scream.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“WHAT THE FUCK ALL MIGHT?!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shota glanced around the room and saw similar expressions of surprise on everyone’s face except for Nezu’s, which had a look of smug satisfaction. The damn rat probably either figured it out years ago, or was there when it happened.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was panicking and chaos from the staff for a few more minutes before Nezu eventually got them all to calm down. All Might explained that he had been injured in a fight against a villain 6 years ago, and only had about 3 hours a day of hero work available to him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And boy wasn’t that a surprise. All Might, the man that Shota thought didn’t take heroics seriously enough, had lost a lung while fighting a villain, and still kept up his persona as an invincible pillar, even to the detriment of his own health. While he wouldn’t admit it, his respect for All Might had increased.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It took a little while, but eventually they moved onto the next topic of discussion for the meeting. He even had to sign another NDA, as this was apparently a totally different secret.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pulling up a map of UA’s campus with a few red dots placed in random locations, Nezu started talking. “Over the last few weeks, our sensors have been picking up spatial anomalies on campus grounds and in the surrounding area, specifically the Mustafu area.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We are currently unaware of the cause of these anomalies, but they seem to be centered on small puffs of floating black and green smoke. It is fairly safe to assume that this is the result of a Quirk in action, but so far, we have not been able to find anyone with a matching Quirk in the database.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Taking a sip from his cup of tea, Nezu sighed. “We are continuing to investigate these anomalies, but I am hereby ordering you to report any sightings of the black and green smoke so that we might find a way to see where they come from.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They talked for a bit longer about the anomalies, and All Might’s injuries, eventually moving onto small talk as the meeting ended. And while it was just the smallest thing, his gut was going haywire over the spatial anomalies.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Something told him that this year would be filled to the brim with problems…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And problem children...</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Banshee! Banshee!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Banshee-44 looked up and saw one of his favorite customers running towards his little stall in the tower courtyard. Even with his somber and to-the-point way of talking, Izuku Midoriya had stilled wormed his way into his heart.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He squirmed his way past a pair of arguing titans and reached his counter, flashing him what Banshee guessed was meant to be a smile. He didn’t have the heart to tell the boy that it looked like he was grimacing in pain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey kiddo, how’d that drone I gave you hold up during your tests?” He had a suspicion that Izuku wasn’t using the drone he had given him for ‘piloting practise’, but at this point, most of the citizens of the tower knew not to dig too deep into what Izuku did in his quarters, after an event with an over-zealous reporter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku gave the weapons master a bow. “It did wonderfully, Mr Banshee sir, but I was wondering if you had another model you could allow me to borrow? Preferably one that is equipped with a communications Module?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Banshee raised one of his mechanical eyebrows at that. Izuku wanted to be able to talk through the drone? “I got a few out back kiddo, what do you need it for?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He noticed the way that Izuku flinched at that and quickly followed it up. “Not that I need to know or anything kiddo. I got one you can borrow, but you gotta give the old one back.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku nodded and brought out the old drone from his coat. “I have it here with me Mr banshee sir. Here you go!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Handing the boy the new drone, he watched him scurry off back to his apartment to do who-knows-what. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Turning to a hunter as they approached his countertop, he pushed thoughts away from the strange boy and his odd habits.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Odd kid, reminds me of… damn. Who does he remind me of?’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p>
  <span><br/>
Izuku spoke, and the portal reopened.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Activating the drone, he connected it to his datapad and flew it through the portal. The video connected and he was met with the smiling face of the creature.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lowering his Quirks defences slightly, he spoke into the drones microphone. “Creature. Speak your name and reveal to me what you are.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a chuckle from the dragon-thing before he heard the soft, powerful voice in his head again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Greetings to you young one, it is good to officially meet you. My name is Riven of a thousand voices, and I am an Ahamkara.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku could feel the importance of her sentence, somehow knowing that he was incredibly privileged  to be privy to her species.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And what does that mean, Riven of a thousand voices? How does a creature as powerful as you find yourself in such a hidden place?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Riven chuckled, and it slowly built up to a full blown laugh. “I see you are unaware of the circumstances surrounding us Ahamkara…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sit child, and allow me to regale you with a tale of wishes, guardians…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“and the most powerful prey that has ever existed…”</span>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading!</p>
<p>Check out my profile for my other fics and one shots!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Eris and the Vanguard investigate what Izuku has been doing since he met Riven</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys! </p>
<p>Say thanks to Mare for beta reading this!</p>
<p>(Also, if the summary confused you guys, no, Izuku did not tell the vanguard about Riven, she asked him not to).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Cayde was starting to get worried for the kid.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It started about 2 months ago. Izuku had stumbled into their weekly training session mumbling about wishes, and portals and a place called ‘UA’. He had then been distracted the entire session, asking Cayde and Shaxx questions about places that the guardians had confirmed strong enemies were located.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There were a lot of requests to sit in on a strikes comms channel and learn how they functioned, and while some were classified and therefore hidden from Izuku, when a strike concerned either the Hive or the Hellmouth, he was allowed to listen in, and occasionally give suggestions.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then there was the rapid growth in the boy’s strength. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku had always been a pretty strong person, years of living in the Hellmouth had shaped his body into a weapon, with sleek, corded muscles built for speed and agility, but he, like all other lightless people, were limited to what their bodies could create.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But Izuku was starting to push past that. Every other session he would show off some feat of strength, like lifting a rocket launcher a little easier, or throwing a grenade further than what was normal. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And he seemed to realize it too. Whenever he was able to pull one of these things off, he would cheer and end the lesson early, heading back to his living quarters, a place that no-one was allowed to, or nowadays wanted to, enter without his permission.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But recently, when Ikora had gone to see him to ask about a certain target of a strike, She found that the minute she reached his door, her connection to the light was pressured. Her ghost, Ophiuchus, reported that it was similar in feeling to the zones in strikes where her ability to resurrect Ikora was compromised.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And while the Vanguard was fine with Izuku doing a lot of things, having a Darkzone in their base of operations, no, their only home, was not an acceptable thing for Izuku to do. There was only so much they could hide from people like the Praxic Fire, and Izuku was pushing it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was why Cayde found himself standing in the lobby out front of Izuku’s room with Zavala, Ikora, Eris, and a squad of the vanguards finest, ready to burst into the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zavala was upfront briefing everyone. “Alright, everyone. We do not know if this Darkzone is intentional or not, and Mr. Midoriya has shown no intent to harm any of us, but we need to investigate this anomaly in his behavior.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed. “If you spot the target, immobilize and restrain, but do not cause him any pain. His abilities stem from his pain, meaning that any damage you do to him will just power him up. Our best course of action is to attempt to knock him out if he reacts violently.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde bristled slightly at the way Zavala was talking about Izuku. Calling him ‘The Target’, like he hadn’t spent the last 5 months making sure the kid had everything he needed for his integration into the Last City.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zavala slammed his fist into his palm. “But if he is not aggressive, you will take </span>
  <b>NO ACTION</b>
  <span> against him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>am I clear?</span>
  </em>
  <span> If Mr. Midoriya shows no signs of harmful intent, you will stow your weapons and leave. That is a direct order.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Getting nods and ‘yes sirs’ in response to that, Zavala let his ghost fade away and pulled out his auto rifle, before moving to the door. Shivering slightly at the feeling of his light being strained, he held up his hand and knocked on the door, only to find it swing open, unlocked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A dozen guns were immediately pointed at the doorway and Zavala dove to the side, but when nothing happened, they were lowered. Entering the doorway behind Zavala, Cayde rested his hand on the “Ace of Spades”, ready for anything.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Or so he thought. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The team cleared the entire living quarters except for Izuku’s office, where he was most likely to be. One of the hunters behind him activated their Shadowshot, pointing the bow at the doorway, just in case.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So when Zavala pushed the door open and Izuku wasn’t in it? They were all surprised. What was in the room was empty boxes of ammo, an empty storage container for a Hand Cannon, A map drawing table with scans from Guardians patrols of the moon, and the giant stone ring they got for Izuku in the back of the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But what was the most shocking of all to them was the fact that the Portal was active.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku couldn’t remember a time that he was having as much fun as this.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>An odd and admittedly morbid thought to be having as you crush a Thrall’s head under your boot while simultaneously ripping an Acolyte’s head off, but it didn’t matter to him. The creatures dying in front of him proved that he would be able to fulfill his wishes through his own strength, and that made him smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whipping out a top-of-the-line Hand Cannon that Banshee had ‘gifted’ him (He felt bad for stealing it but Banshee wasn’t gonna remember), he fired one shot into another Acolyte’s chest, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>pulled</span>
  </em>
  <span> on the immense pain it was feeling to conjure an orb of fire in his hand, throwing it at an oncoming Knight.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All around him were the screeches and grunts of the Hive tongue, spewing insults and jeers at him. He wondered if they knew he could understand them. Then he heard another of the Knights charging him, and used the Thrall below him as a launching pad, jumping over it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Firing multiple shots off into its back, he slid under the swing of its cleaver and pulled out his knife from his belt, stabbing it into the flexible part between its chest carapace and its head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sliding from it’s right to left quickly, he slit the Knight’s throat and watched it fall summoning a shield from its suffering right as a Wizard started to attack him. He pulled harder on the Knight’s pain and attempted something he had only tried one or two times before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He had seen the way that the Hive ships traveled long distances and had overheard how it worked, and now he was going to try it. Shooting another Acolyte and pulling its pain as well, Izuku forced his will on the world around him, and thrust his arm forward, knife in hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The air in front of him shimmered in black and green light as a hole in space erupted into being. His knife sank into it and stabbed into the back of the wizard’s neck, but he had to pull his hand out as the portal started closing. He growled. He needed to be stronger before that strategy could be viable.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He could hear the Wizard screaming obscenities (or the equivalent) at him, and smirked. Diving out from behind the shield as it faded away, he shot the Wizard in both of its shoulders, leaving the arms limp.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Walking up to the Wizard, he pulled it to the ground and stuck a knife to its throat. He growled at it as he checked around him for more enemies, but this room was now empty. As he looked around, the Wizard was screaming at him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <b>
    <em>Filthy Human! Death will come to you, as it does to us all, you small, puny creature! You will fall!”</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku roared as he slammed the Wizard’s head into the floor, stopping its words. He growled at it, smirking. </span>
  <b>
    <em>“You are not one to talk, SpellSlinger. You have failed in the eyes of reality by being weaker than your opponent. You are no longer fit to live.”</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku took pleasure in the look of surprise, which was an odd expression on a Hive’s face, at the taunt right before he stabbed it in the eyes, digging deep enough into it to tear apart its brain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Now that everything around him was dead, he headed back to the portal that sat at the smaller end of the room. As he did so he gathered up all of the bodies of the hive and placed them in a pile. The Knights and Wizards took a while to drag over, due to their immense density, but he got them all piled up eventually.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sitting down in front of the pile with a knife in one hand, he started to hum as he cut along his palm. Placing his bleeding hand on the pile of corpses, his humming slowly turned into chanting.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Through Strength comes power.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Through Power comes Victory.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>And through Victory comes Strength.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Look upon my foes and find them vanquished</em>
  </b>
</p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A blazing green fire sparked into existence inside the pile of corpses as Izuku chanted, unaware of his surroundings at this point, including the portal behind him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>I ask you to fill me with their strength, having earned that right by triumphing over them</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Grant unto me the power of my enemies, who can no longer use it</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Allow their death to fuel my life, and award me their power.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Through the sword, I grow ever stronger!</em>
  </b>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The green fire burned even brighter, encompassing the entire pile as the corpses started to disintegrate. As they did, the ashes started to coalesce into an orb above the pile. As the last of the ashes joined into the now apple-sized orb, it fused together in a brilliant flash of light, now a glowing green orb.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku reached out to grab it, feeling the heat of the power in his hands and smiling. He stood up, his incantation now complete, and turned back to the portal. Then he jolted in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Standing just in front of the portal was the Vanguard and Eris, with various guardians filing in behind them slowly. Eris’s eyes were firmly planted on the orb in his hands, while the guardians were sweeping the room. They seemed confused that there were no Hive in there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde’s eyes finally reached the orb in Izuku’s hand, which was slowly losing its green glow, the glow appearing in Izuku’s eyes instead. His hand instinctively jerked towards his holster, but he was able to stop himself from drawing his Ace out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, as the last of the glow vanished from the orb held by Izuku, he took a slow step forward and raised his hands clearing his (robot) throat. “Uh, hey there Kiddo… Sorry to surprise you like this!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku just cocked his head to the side. While he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> confused at why they were here, he wasn’t upset at them. He had guessed that the aura that the various magic objects he had in his quarters would eventually lead to an investigation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He said as much. “Calm yourself Cayde. I hold no anger towards you. Truly I expected an outcome like this to happen eventually. But I do have a few questions for you all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zavala, who had joined Cayde now that the room had been secured, coughed into his hand. “And we have some for you, Mr. Midoriya. How about we head back to the Tower so that we may speak in safety.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku jolted as he realized that they were still in the Hellmouth and quickly nodded. “Agreed. I do not wish to spend longer than I need to in this place. Everyone! You may re-enter the portal and return to the Tower!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A few guardians looked at each other before looking to Zavala for permission, who nodded. They shrugged and walked back through the portal with varying levels of confidence. Izuku was fairly certain he could even see one shivering. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Izuku followed Cayde back into the portal, Eris walked up beside him. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “What can I do for you, Shattered One?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eris hummed. “During my time in the Hellmouth, I discovered a text written in a language I understood that explained in great detail the concept that fuels the Hive’s strength. The tome called it “Sword Logic.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku glanced at her quickly, recognizing the book she was talking about. It was one of the first that he wrote, and the one that he had lost. If Eris had it that meant he might be able to get it back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It spoke of gaining strength by defeating your foes. It spoke of forcing your will on reality through that strength. I believe you to be the author of this book and a practitioner of this logic. Am I correct, Unthinking One?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku chuckled softly at the title as they reached his living room, now alone with Eris and the Vanguard. “You are correct, Shattered One. No, Eris. You are correct Eris. I ventured down into the dark once again to gain strength, so that I may complete my plans.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He sat down on his couch and willed the portal to close. The vanguard looked around as the pressure of the Darkness lifted off of them, visibly relaxing. “I need to be stronger than I am to help my allies, and I need to be stronger than I am now to return to my home.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He clenched his fist and stared out the window at the city below him. “I’ve always wanted to be a Hero, did you know that? It’s a common profession in my homeworld. So if I need to grow more powerful to protect people, I will, and nothing will stop me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He bowed to the vanguard. “If the aura that fills my home when I activate my portal makes you uncomfortable or afraid when you come near, I can add a mechanism to my door to show when I am using it, so that you may avoid it. Is this acceptable?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zavala looked at Ikora with his eyebrow raised. Waving Cayde and Eris over, then had a brief discussion while huddling, before they seemed to reach an agreement. “We have reached a decision.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“As it has been shown that the Darkzone is an unfortunate side effect of your travels, and you need to travel to… ‘gain strength’, we agree to your request. We will send either Banshee or one of his assistants over to install the device.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku just smiled at him and nodded. Zavala continued. “But please, keep the portals to a minimum while you know there are others around. We can only protect you from so much, there are many people who would try to hurt you if they knew what you could do.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku nodded to them, and after a brief moment, the vanguard left, followed shortly by Eris, who bowed slightly to Izuku before leaving.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Izuku closed and locked the door, he felt shifting around his neck.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled at the collar of his battle outfit and allowed the worm-like creature to unwrap from around his neck. He walked back to the portal and adjusted the coordinates, re-opening it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Holding his palms up, the worm slid down his sleeves and curled up on his hand. He smiled at it. “Did you enjoy your outing? You mentioned that it wasn’t safe to reveal you to the guardians, but they are gone now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The worm creature chuckled before shuddering, dropping to the floor and growing in size and shape, and before Izuku appeared an Awoken woman. Or at least, the image of one.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Riven chucked as she leaned against the portal. “Yes, I did, o’ transporter mine. It has been too long since I have spent that much time outside of the Queen’s city. I must thank you for the opportunity. The queen doesn’t let me leave very often.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She laughed. “How fortunate for both of us that you stumbled across my abode! I will return home now. Rest yourself, child, and I shall see you at a later date, o’ distraction mine.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku bowed as Riven walked through the portal. “I will. Enjoy your time until then, my friend.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t know it, but as Izuku closed the portal, they had the same thought;</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘What an interesting creature’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed the chapter!</p>
<p>If you did, you should check out my profile for all of my other fics and one-shots!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys!</p>
<p>Thanks to GotSh0cks for beta reading this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Izuku awoke to nausea in his stomach.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was needing to sleep less and less these days due to the power he had been amassing, but he hadn’t reached the point where he could go without it forever. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy sleeping, but he had so many things he would rather be doing than resting, even if it was important. He had so many plans, so many things to do.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But he had never woken up like this before. He could feel his a pressure building all around him, rising from the floor and through the roof, making him shiver as it passed through him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He grabbed some clothes, just a basic outfit consisting of black pants, red boots, a white shirt, and a blue hoodie, before running outside to see a gathering of Guardians in the courtyard of the Tower.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then he saw what was making him feel nauseous. Looking up into the sky, it was almost like the Traveller, the source of the Guardian’s powers, was glowing with life. Izuku could feel the strings in between the giant white Orb and the Guardians, flooding everyone in the courtyard with energy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then he saw the stage at the front of the crowd, where the Vanguard was standing, alongside a group of six Guardians. He pushed his way to the front of the crowd, finding it surprisingly easy, as many of the Guardians seemed distracted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed like Zavala was happy with the number of people gathered in front of him, because he fired a shot into the air, gaining their attention. “Greetings, to both Guardians and the Lightless!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Today is a momentous day! One that we shall keep in our history books as the first time we scored a proper victory against the enemies of the Traveller! Today, The Vex mind, Atheon of the Vault of Glass, has fallen!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At this, the crowd gathered in front of Zavala went </span>
  <em>
    <span>wild</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Even Izuku was stunned. From the scouting reports that he had gotten to look at, the Vault of Glass was a major stronghold for a race known as the Vex, which were basically Issac Asimov’s nightmare.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This ‘Atheon’ apparently had the ability to control time inside the vault and had used it to try and restore something called the Black Heart, an odd force of the darkness that had been dampening the Traveller’s power.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku didn’t know everything about the other enemies that the Guardians faced, his speciality was the Hive and their magics of course, but even he knew how momentous an occasion this was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The group of six guardians stepped forward and pulled their ghosts out, letting them hover over their shoulders. Zavala clapped the one closest to him, a Titan, on the shoulder as he continued his speech. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And we have these six Guardians to thank! They raided the Vault of Glass and succeeded where many others have failed! Introduce yourselves, our champions of the hour!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The group consisted of two of each of the classes. There were two Titans, one in pure black armour with green highlights, the other in armour with Hakke camo on it. Izuku could feel Void energy coming off of the one in the green and black armour, and Solar energy from the Hakke one. They both seemed powerful and full of light.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two Hunters were both dressed in identical sets of armour, but one had a pink cloak while the other had a brown one. From what Izuku could tell, they were both female, the slight curve in their armours tipping him off. The brown-cloaked one emanated Void energy, while the Pink cloaked one let off the occasional spark of Arc energy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two Warlocks seemed to vary on how interested they were in this ceremony. One of them, the female Warlock, who had some of the most expensive-looking gear on he had seen on a Guardian, seemed to be soaking up the cheers, while the male Warlock, who was in red-and-white crucible gear seemed to just want to leave already.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The one in the black and green armour seemingly noticed how uncomfortable the red-and-white Warlock was, so he waved him up first. The Warlock visibly sighed and stepped forward taking off his helmet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The first thing that Izuku noticed was the man’s heterochromia, one eye being vibrant blue, while the other was a dull grey. He bowed to the group, putting on a shaky smile. “Uh, Hello. My name is Shoto Towairatio, Solar Warlock.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He then stepped back quickly and almost hid behind the black and green Titan, who laughed, waving the next person forward. Apparently he wanted to be last. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The pink-cloaked Hunter stepped up first, taking off her helmet with a flourish, revealing her fluffy brown hair. “Hey everyone! The name’s Mina Sando! I’m a Bladedancer! If any of y’all wanna learn some of my moves I’d be happy to teach you!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The other Hunter stepped forward and took her helmet off, placing her hand on Mina’s shoulder. She had short brown hair in a bob-cut, and Izuku could see her blush even from where he stood. “Alright, chill Mina. Hello everyone! My name is Yuu Uraraka! But feel free to call my Yuura, everyone does.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The black and green Titan waved the only other member of the fire team forward after Yuu stepped back, taking Mina with her. The cream-coloured helmet hissed as it came off, revealing a head of spiky blonde hair, and crimson eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku’s entire world stopped as he saw the Titan’s face. Could… could it really be him? Izuku hadn’t even considered the possibility of this happening. He had never anticipated that something like even </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> happen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But he should have. He should have expected something like this.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The blonde smirked as he let Solar fire coat his body, raising his arms into a victory stance. “Sup, fuckers! The names Katsuki Furea! Don’t you fucking forget it! I’m gonna beat everyone else and become the next Titan Vanguard once the smurf bites the dust!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku barely heard the cheering from the crowd as he took a step forward unconsciously. Guardians, too distracted by the loud, abrasive blond to care, moved out of his way as he reached the front.  Zavalla saw him and smiled, nodding towards him, before noticing the blank look on Izuku’s face as he stared at Katsuki. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Titan in question had seemed to notice Izuku as well, eyeing the boy as he slowly approached the stage.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Katsuki was a little surprised, not that he would show it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The kid that had just pushed his way through the crowd and was now staring at him was a dead ringer for his fireteam leader if he was less buff and like fucking twelve years old. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He nudged the green and black Titan, nodding his head at the kid, who still hadn’t taken his eyes off of Katsuki. “Heads up, dumbass. The little twerp at the front won’t stop staring at me. Is that the one Zavala told us about? The Hellmouth kid?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The green and black Titan hummed before placing his hand on Katsuki’s shoulder. “I think it is. I hadn’t seen him before. He looks just like me. You thinking what I’m thinking?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Katuski grunted and nodded, taking a step back after rearing the crowd up again. The green and black Titan stepped forward, taking off his helmet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He noticed that the Hellmouth Kid’s eyes immediately left Katuski and jumped to him, the kid’s mouth falling open as he stared at him. He raised his fist into the air and smiled at the crowd, blowing a piece of his fluffy black hair out of his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Greetings everyone! It is an honour to stand before you and be able to proclaim success! My name is Akatani Mikumo, and I am the fireteam leader for the Mighty Hydras!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Flashing a smile to the crowd, his vision eventually landed on the boy again, who was staring up at him with sparkling eyes, even if the rest of his face was blank. “Tonight, we will be hosting party to celebrate this victory, complete with a mighty feast, fit for the kings of the golden ages!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The cheers that erupted did nothing to distract him from the look that the boy that could well be his younger self gave him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Full of curiosity, concern, and excitement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Today was a double update!</p>
<p>My MHA/JJBA fic 'Take a Deep Breath' also got updated! Check out my profile to read the fic!</p>
<p>If you liked this, you should check out my profile for my other fics and one-shots!</p>
<p>Also, follow me on Twitter for updates for all of my fics, and the announcement of new ones!</p>
<p>
  <b>https://twitter.com/Logar49015351</b>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to Cygus for beta reading this!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Izuku could feel it in his bones.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This man was him. Well not exactly him, but close enough that the seams of reality that permeated the small hallway they were standing in were stressed, as if their being together was something the universe couldn’t understand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His body was yelling at him in confusion, giving the motherload of all mixed signals. He was hot, cold, afraid, confident, at ease, and stressed out of his mind. He leaned up against the wall and shivered involuntarily.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mikumo looked just as stressed out, and Izuku knew that the man could feel the unease as well. They were like two halves of a whole that were broken and had been remade, and they didn’t fit together anymore.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku used the power of the Sword Logic and the Darkness; Mikumo was a stalwart defender empowered by the Light. Izuku was a stranger from another dimension, and Mikumo had been born and raised, killed, and then reborn in this reality.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This went on for a while, the sounds of the party going off in the background as the two dimensional doppelgangers stared at each other. After a few minutes though, Mikumo spoke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So. You’re me? How old are you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku knew that Zavala had briefed him a little bit about his situation, but if it didn’t include his age, then Mikumo probably didn’t know much about him. He hummed, then spoke. “Yes, I am your doppelganger. I am 14, and will be turning 15 in 3 months.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mikumo nodded, and the two fell back into silence for a short while. It seemed that neither of them really knew what to say now that they had the privacy needed to for a top-secret talk.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku hummed, allowing some green energy to weave around his fingers, like a gambler would a coin, as he waited for Mikumo to speak. Mikumo’s eyes flicked to the energy instantly, and Izuku could feel the light from him flare up a bit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mikumo calmed down after a second, looking the boy in the eyes again. “You… you’re an enigma to me, honestly. I don’t know whether I want to shoot you, hug you, or send you as far away from me as possible.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku nodded. “I understand. I feel the same unease you do, Lightborn. But I asked Zavala to bring you here to speak with me for a reason.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mikumo nodded. “Sure, I’ll just ignore it, what did you want me for?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku pulled out a small green stone from his pocket, and passed it to Mikumo. The Guardian gasped as he felt his connection to the light become tense. “What is this?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku made a pulling motion and the rock flew back into his hands. “Earlier today there would have been enough ambient darkness in that ritual stone to render you lightless upon contact. Now, after your victory, it barely suppresses it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku continued, pocketing the rock. “You lightborn may be distracted by the new strength of the Traveller, but I can feel the struggle of the Dark in this city.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mikumo raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku hummed. “My magic has become more difficult to bring out since your victory in the Black Garden... The Last City has become a Lightzone once more, where the powers of the Dark are weakened, similar to how the Hellmouth affects Guardians.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mikumo smiled widely. “Really? That's amazing! I knew that the traveller was starting to heal again after we defeated the Black Heart, but I didn’t realise that it would affect it that much!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku’s mouth curled up slightly. “Yes, you have won a great victory for those in the Light, Mikumo. And it is because of that victory that I stand before, asking for your help.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mikumo took a moment to comprehend those words, before letting out an </span>
  <em>
    <span>eloquent</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Huh?!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku nodded to the man. “In 10 days, I will be leading an expedition into the Hellmouth to kill the Hive Prince. I know the ins and outs of the sprawling caverns better than anyone, even she who is shattered.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku raised his cloth covered eyes to the man’s face, and smiled at him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wish for the Mighty Hydra’s to accompany me on this expedition.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span><br/>Cayde was getting antsy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku had been going through his portal at least once a day for the last 9 days, and each time he returned, Cayde could almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> the growth in power that Izuku had experienced. Just how strong was this boy going to get?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But that's not what made him nervous </span>
  <em>
    <span>this time</span>
  </em>
  <span>. This time, he was nervous because Izuku brought something back with him other than increased strength. This time, Izuku had brought back a fucking Hive Larva.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh Izuku, buddy, pal, sport. What are you planning on doing with that Worm? You’re not gonna like, eat it and become immortal or something, right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku chuckled as he played with the Worm, allowing it to fall off of one hand and land in the other, repeating this. “I do not plan on eating it, no. One larva would not be enough to gain immortality, anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Cayde gave him a look that definitely said ‘that's not helping’, Izuku continued. “I plan on using this worm to grow a weapon for me, like the Wizard’s do for their troops. Something that will allow me to better use my magic.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde nodded, stroking his robotic chin, and letting out a hum. “I see, I see… So like one of the cleavers that the Knights use? Or are you thinking of a more traditional Wizard’s staff?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku shook his head. “No, neither of those. A cleaver, or a greatsword as they would be for me requires too much mastery of techniques to allow for effective combat, but a staff would leave me without much offense if I ever lost my connection to my magic.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku ‘s eyes glowed, and he spoke a word that made Cayde flinch. A green light engulfed the worm, before Izuku placed his other hand around it. And then he squeezed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His enhanced strength made it easy to do, so easy that the worm practically popped like a balloon, the green gunk that made up its inside spewing out of it, before suddenly it stopped in mid air, and floated slowly back to Izuku’s hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde took his hands off of his eyes now that they weren’t in danger of getting Hive gunk on them, and saw Izuku mumbling as he moved his hand up and down the floating remains of the worm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He watched in fascination as the pile of Hive gunk split into two sections, and started to compress into themselves, becoming solid under the strength of Izuku’s magic. Eventually, Izuku’s mumbling stopped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A second later, there was a flash of green light from both of the items being formed, blinding Cayde for a moment. And then he saw them. The weapons that Izuku had forged from the worm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dual shortswords, with blades as deep and black as the night sky, and handles made from the bone-like substance that made up the Hive’s exoskeleton. They were beautiful. And they were dangerous.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku smiled as he grabbed both of the hilts, and brandished the swords. Cayde watched as Izuku moved through kata’s and forms that he was sure no-one in the tower had shown him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Izuku… what did you just do?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku looked up from his movements to see Cayde staring at him, or more specifically, at his new blades. He smiled. “I forged a weapon from the Darkness inside the worm, Cayde-6. Dual Blades that will compliment my magics and allow me to fight in hand to hand combat more effectively.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde nodded, finally tearing his eyes away from the swords. He gulped. Or the robot equivalent of gulping. “You should make scabbards for them as quickly as possible, Izuku. Just seeing the blades made my Light arc up like a pitbull seeing a mailman.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku nodded. “I hypothesised that they might make Lightborn uncomfortable to be around due to the purity of their darkness, so I already have scabbards ready for them. Allow me to get them from my study.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku then left the room, returning a few moments later with a pair of beautiful bone-like scabbards connected to a belt made out of… something. He inserted the blades into their scabbards and put the belt on over his outfit, testing how they fitted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde watched as he made minute adjustments to the belt and scabbards with his magic, until they sat perfectly around his waist, not even bouncing when he jumped or ran. Cayde was impressed, to be honest, as well as relieved that his Light had calmed down when the swords went into their scabbards.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Izuku pulled the swords in and out a few times quickly to test them, and smiled when he was done, taking the belt off and returning it to his study. He then came back out to Cayde and smiled savagely.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Go get some sleep, Cayde-6. Tomorrow will be a very important day.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cayde nodded. Standing up and leaving Izuku to rest. He knew what was coming. He knew what Izuku had planned. And you know what? He knew that he would be successful. He believed in the kid.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You got it, kiddo. You get some sleep as well. After all-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“-You’ve got a prince to dethrone.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed this!</p>
<p>Check out my profile for all of my fics and one-shots!</p>
<p>And follow me on Twitter for updates about all of that stuff!<br/>https://twitter.com/Logar49015351</p>
<p>And join my discord! Not many peeps yet, but it’s fairly new.<br/>https://discord.gg/BRF5FN5zQp</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to Majigah for Beta Reading this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The landing zone had been cleared.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Lightborn had a small foothold on the moon, earned through the blood, sweat, and tears of many guardians. The Hive had been pushed back from the entrance to the Hellmouth, for now. That meant that they had to be quick.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hydras! Let's get a move on! Our LZ is a hot-spot! Prep your transmats before we get there for a quick drop!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> “Fuck off, I know what to do!” “Yes, Captain!” </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku looked around the hangar as the Hydras got into their various ships. He followed his counterpart to the last remaining pair, Mikumo and Katsuki. Katsuki was sitting in the front seat of his ship, looking at Izuku. He had chosen to ride in Katsuki’s ship to not make both him and Mikumo uncomfortable.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Get in, pipsqueak. And don’t fucking stab my chair with those toothpicks.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku nodded and made sure that his swords didn’t stab into the fabric that lined the seats as he sat down. He wiggled his butt on the chair. It was surprisingly comfortable, for a spaceship meant to participate in battles.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cockpit snapped shut, and Izuku could hear the engines spinning up. He tapped on his earpiece a few times and heard the crackling as he connected to the system. “Is everyone ready?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hell yea!” “Ready when you are, little man!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku gave a thumbs-up to Katsuki. The man hummed and nodded, then his ship shot out straight forward, slamming Izuku into his seat as he quickly left the earth’s atmosphere, the other 5 ships following him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The moon quickly came into view, and Izuku heard Mikumo’s voice. “Alright, squad! ETA 45 seconds to LZ! Get ready!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo’s skill showed, as exactly 44 seconds later (Izuku counted) they arrived over the moon’s surface at the right distance to transmat. Katsuki looked back to him and nodded. “Get down there kid, I’m transmitting now!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku nodded and watched as the Guardian vanished from thin air, and smiled. He pulled on his power and envisioned the battle below. And like a corpse floating in a river, he relinquished control, and let his energy push him to the end of the flow he had created.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku disappeared from the ship in a puff of black and green smoke, a laugh on his lips as he unsheathed his swords.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The drop zone was chaos. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Guardians were at least 200 strong, but the Hive were endless. That’s the only way that Yuura could describe it. She had told Mikumo when she joined his squad that she trusted him completely and that she would follow him to the depths of hell and back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo had apparently taken her up on that offer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The second she had re-materialized enough to move, she was firing at the hordes of Hive soldiers crashing up against their foothold. Her gear was top of the line, but even she found that some of the Knights she fired at took way more shots than they should have.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She hadn’t been present the day that Crota had decimated the guardians exploring the moon, but she had lost her best friend, Tsu, to the Hive Prince that day. So when Mikumo had told her that they were going to kill Crota, there was no doubt in her heart that she would fight. And fight she did.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A wall of purple fire erupted from the ground at her command, roasting a line of acolytes with the burning cold of Void energy. She jumped, and then jumped again in mid-air, getting a look over the wall to scout out the biggest threats of the next incoming wave.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Three knights and an Ogre on her 4 o’clock. The Guardians holding the line had the knights, but she should probably help with the Ogre. Pulling out her Heaviest weapon, her trusty rocket launcher, and let it lock onto the Ogre.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bracing herself, she pulled the trigger and watched the rocket shoot out at high speed, impacting the Ogre on the side of the head, staggering it enough for it to stop shooting its eye beam.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This let a whole fireteam of Guardians charge it, and they quickly made short work of it. Nodding to herself, she landed on the ground and heard a crackle in her ear. “Full Squad, Converge on the Hellmouth’s entrance. Izuku’s figured it out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She turned and sprinted towards the Hellmouth, doing her best to ignore the sounds behind her. She had a mission to do. Staying and helping the other Guardians who were holding the Hive off would only give them more work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She reached the Hellmouth and gave a nod to Mikumo. She would trust him, and this small, strange boy that was here to guide them.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku hummed as he felt around the Hellmouth’s enchantments.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a reason that so many fireteams got lost in it. The Hive had set it up that the pool of energy coating the pit transported people who entered it to different locations, depending on the flow of the energy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That was what Izuku was currently trying to manipulate. He knew that if they just jumped down into the pit, they would be placed somewhere randomly, and have to fight their way to Crota. Izuku knew many places in the Hellmouth that could, and definitely would, kill the Guardians in his party quite easily.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was especially worried about the Abyss, the weight of the Darkness slowing the Guardians down, and Ir Yut, Crota’s Deathsinger. And occasional Concubine. But he had purged the memories of that horrible sight a long time ago.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was attempting to scour the pathways of the pit’s energy, to make a gateway straight to Crota. After a few minutes, he hummed to himself, slightly disappointed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He hadn’t been able to get directly to Crota’s chamber, but he had at least been able to get to the end of the Thrallway, as he liked to call it. He looked over to Mikumo, who was guarding him and nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Mikumo! We must begin at once!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo nodded at him. “Full Squad, Converge on the Hellmouth’s entrance. Izuku’s figured it out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took a few moments, but the Mighty Hydras eventually all reached Izuku and Mikumo. Izuku smiled at them. “Alright. When I give you the signal, you are going to jump.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mina cocked her head to the side. “Jump where?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku pointed towards the Hellmouth. “Jump into the pit.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mina glanced over at Mikumo. The man just nodded to her, and she shrugged. “Alright then! Just tell us when, little dude.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku nodded and hearing no other concerns turned towards the pit. The Might Hydras all shivered as they felt Darkness coalesce around him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And then his hands ignited in green fire.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Gods, Izuku had never felt so powerful.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>All around him, creatures were in pain. All around him, creatures on both sides were being injured, screaming into the depths of space, writhing in pain at the dull agony of gunshot wounds and the stinging of a claw’s cut.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He could feel it all. Every cut, every bullet wound, every burn from Solar light, every atom screaming in pain as Arc light tore them apart, the painful silence that the cold flames of Void light brought.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And it made him feel <em>strong</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He turned to the pit and raised his arms, a dull hum coming to his throat as he funneled all that agony towards his goals, using himself as its shepherd. He felt flames of energy pool in his palms.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And then he spoke.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Agony of a Thousand Warriors, Reveal my Path!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He felt the energy of the Hellmouth straighten out slightly, bending to his will. But it wasn’t enough yet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Agony of a Thousand Warriors, Breach the Barriers!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He could almost feel the stares of the Mighty Hydras on his back as he allowed the Darkness to flow through him, motioning with his hands as he mentally tried to tear a hole in the fabric of reality big enough for the entire squad.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Agony of a Thousand Warriors, Open the Gate!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a soft rumbling as if the Hellmouth was resisting one final time, but Izuku knew he had done it. He felt the portal open, and the power that he had gotten from all the pain around him draining rapidly to keep it open.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He turned to the Mighty Hydra’s.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> “JUMP!” </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed this!</p>
<p>Check out my profile for all of my fics and one-shots!</p>
<p>And follow me on Twitter for updates about all of that stuff!<br/>https://twitter.com/Logar49015351</p>
<p>And join my discord! Not many peeps yet, but it’s fairly new.<br/>https://discord.gg/BRF5FN5zQp</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Crota</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to Majigah for beta reading this, and thank you to Celerior for the art at the end!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Katsuki had never been scared of anything in his entire time as a Guardian.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The first thing he had done when he was revived by his ghost was to walk out of the building he had woken up in with a gun strapped to his back and the head of a Vex Minotaur strung over his shoulder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He had fought Fallen Captains with his bare hands and torn them apart <em> without </em> using his Solar Light. He had completely vaporised a Cabal tank with his Light while Mikumo got a scavenger group to safety.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Katsuki didn’t <em> do </em>being scared. He was never ‘scared.’</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That wasn’t to say he never felt <em> fear </em>. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Vex Minotaur had almost torn him apart before he knew he wouldn’t stay dead, and he had been terrified of losing his new chance at living. He had almost lost his ghost while wrestling the Fallen Captain, and he still had nightmares about what could have happened.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And the Cabal Tank? It had been one, maybe two shots away from demolishing an entire settlement of lightless in the wilderness. He had never been someone with a bleeding heart—that was Mikumo’s thing—but he had feared for the safety of those people.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And even after all that, no level of fear had ever come close to the rising tension in his chest as he followed his fireteam into the tear in reality before him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He felt the Darkness flowing past him as all feelings of gravity left him, leaving him floating down a tube of green and black light that felt wrong to him in every sense of the word. He couldn’t even see his teammates anymore, only feel their Light, and even that was muffled.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was confident that they could do this. They had every advantage they could get, and they were the god damn Mighty Hydras! If anyone could slay Crota, it was them!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That didn’t stop the <em> absolute fear </em> he felt towards what he knew would happen if they failed.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The ‘Thrallway’ was deathly silent, with not even the sounds of the battle above them reaching this far down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku landed silently on his feet, his hands grabbing at the handles to his blades as he watched the Mighty Hydras appear on the ground in front of him. To their credit, they adjusted to their new positions quickly, landing on their feet with grace.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku supposed that transmat was fairly similar in principle, and most likely afforded them some form of practice for the portals of the Hive. He watched as they scanned the room, weapons up. He was glad they were taking this seriously.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Welcome to the Thrallway, Guardians. Normally we would be set upon by a legion of thralls, but it seems the majority of the grunts are focused on the Guardians above.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He motioned for them to follow him and quickly ducked into a secret alcove before the drop to Ir Yut’s chambers. He pried open the chest from the middle of the alcove, thankful that the doors were still open; it seemed that if you just warped to the end, they didn’t start to close.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Grabbing a handful of a tough, chitinous cloth from the chest, Izuku stuffed them into his pack and rolled his shoulders, looking down the hole in the floor at the black puddle of liquid underneath it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Hydras gathered around him, looking at Izuku and waiting for him to give them the signal. He scanned them, seeing if any looked close to losing their nerve now that they were so close to Crota.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was glad to see that none of them had anything but determination on their faces. He nodded to himself. “All right everyone, put on your helmets and make sure that no sound is capable of entering at all. You <b>must</b> not hear anything that is sung down there, whether it be from me or Ir Yut.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He watched as all of the Guardians put on their helmets and gave him a thumbs-up as their hearing was shut off. But he knew that wasn’t going to be enough. He reached up and grabbed onto Mikumo’s shoulders, smiling at the man.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He knew that blocking out the sound alone wouldn’t stop the deathsong from obliterating people. It would slow it down, allowing someone to get out of range, but in a confined space like Crota’s chamber, they wouldn’t be able to get far enough away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To fix that, they had to be protected from the telepathic part of the song as well. And he had been working on a spell that would allow him to share his Quirk’s protections with someone for a limited amount of time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With that in mind, Izuku pulled on Mikumo’s shoulders, slamming his forehead into the man’s helmet, before both of them stumbled back, a sharp green ‘V’ burned onto the front of Mikumo’s helmet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku ignored the dull throbbing in his forehead and reached towards Shoto, who bent down a little bit to allow Izuku to reach him. The other Hydras went after Shoto, and Izuku branded each of their helmets with his protective rune.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finishing the final preparations, Izuku bowed to the Guardians, thanking them for coming with him. When the prince was slain, he would be in their debt for a good while. But it was worth it. He turned away from the Hydras and let out a roar, the air around him shaking as he leapt into the air and the hole in front of them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was time for the Hive Prince to meet his end.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The caverns themselves shook around them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo had been in many odd situations, but he had never done a raid without any noise before. It was weird and meant that he was almost constantly spinning as he walked, not willing to let anything sneak up on them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The room they were in was a circular one with a black pool of liquid at their feet, green torches surrounding them, and one hallway out into an open courtyard, where Mikumo could already see a few Hive Knights crouched on the floor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Almost immediately after they all landed, Mikumo let his hand fall on Yuura’s shoulder, stopping the small amounts of Void Light that was flowing from her hands. All of the Hydras knew what Crota had done to Yuura’s squadmates on the moon, but Tsuyu’s final death had been a hard blow to Yuura’s mental health.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was pulled out of that thought process when the ground underneath them shook a little. He watched as Izuku seemed to yell something, his arms igniting in a bright green fire as the kid ran ahead of the group, motioning for them to follow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The kid was kind of insane, but he knew what he was doing. Probably.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo had faith in him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku's arms burned with energy as he shot forward.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The deathsong was already flowing through the air around him, encouraging him to go faster, push harder. While the opening verse of the Deathsong wasn’t lethal, it was still unpleasant to unprotected minds.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Luckily, the charms he had placed on the Mighty Hydras helmets seemed to be working for now, but he couldn’t risk them being exposed to the Deathsong’s chorus, the most deadly part of the song.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>An acolyte who dared get in his way was ripped apart by Izuku’s fire, leaving nothing but charred remains behind as Izuku barely slowed down. He heard the Mighty Hydras firing at the various Hive in front of him as he moved, and nodded to himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Being back in the Hellmouth was stressful for him, but this time he wasn’t alone. And he was stronger than he had ever been. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was on the lower level of Crota’s throne room at the moment, and he knew that it was likely Ir Yut was hiding inside the crystal room that was above him now. She hid behind her song and her prince, preying on those unprepared to face her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku despised her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His hand cannon roared in his ears as he put a Knight down, watching as it dissolved in front of his eyes, the magical rounds in the cannon’s chamber doing their job. He slammed his foot into another Knight’s shield, rocketing himself upwards to the upper platforms.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thralls were crushed under his feet as he landed on them, and used as launching pads to push him forward. Now that he was on the upper level, all he had to do was fight his way through one of the corridors and take the Witch down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He heard the different forms of Light going off behind him, and saw that Mina had copied his move and was right behind him, a shotgun in her hands. The other Hydras were making their way towards the staircase to his right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She nodded at him, and there was a moment of silence. Izuku almost flinched as the woman <em>exploded </em>with power, blue Arc Light flowing over her body as dual daggers of pure light appeared in her hands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was almost beautiful how she danced forward, Hive falling at her feet as the blades of Arc Light cut through them without resistance. She quite literally blinked out of existence a few times as well, appearing in surprise positions around her enemies.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku made sure to study how she moved with her blades, as it could be a very helpful thing to learn for his own swords. But even then, she wasn’t his focus. Now that they had reached the hallway with the other Hydras behind them, Izuku could see her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Ir Yut.</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And she was staring right back at him, ready to continue into the chorus.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Shoto dodged one of the Acolyte’s fireballs, returning the favour with one of his own.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After Mikumo, he was the most experienced Guardian here, but even he had never seen anything like this. The Hive that were protecting their Prince’s throne room were rabid, wild. Not even the Vault of Glass had been this hectic or as big of a pressure on his Light.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Vault of Glass had almost been like a game. There was a steady pressure on his light, just enough to make reviving difficult, and each room had rules that even the Vex had seemed to follow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But this? This was… chaotic and confusing, and the pressure on his Light was both stronger and less stable, fluctuating, making it hard to gauge his available strength at any moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His pulse rifle vibrated in his hands as he fired it over and over, making sure to keep track of the number at the top of the gun to keep track of his ammo now that he was unable to hear the click it made when the clip was empty.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He watched as Midoriya cut the head off the final Knight in the hallway and nodded to himself as the green shield between them and the Hive Witch that Midoriya called ‘Ir Yut’ dissipated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Almost immediately, they were attacked by another swarm of Hive, this time accompanied by powerful blasts from Ir Yut. Shoto made sure to focus on the smaller Hive, as his job for this raid was to keep the little guys off of their heavy hitters.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Solar Light flowed through him as he used his ‘Radiance,’ and he could feel himself improve in almost every way. The darkness weighed on him less, and his vision was filled with fire as he swept his left arm out in front of him, a barrage of solar grenades hitting the group of smaller Hive in front of him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It might have been because he was so focused on the smaller Hive, and the fire coursing through his veins, that he never saw the Knight’s sword coming.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Yuura turned to the Knight that was now standing over Shoto’s Ghost, Fuyumi.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shoto’s body was laid out on the floor, unmoving, the solar light fading quickly. A scream of anger ripped out of her as Void Light pulsed in her hands, a bow and arrow appearing in her grasp.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She refused to allow another one of her friends to fall to the Hive.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The purple arrow shot directly through the Knight’s chest, blowing a hole open in it, before collapsing in on itself into a purple orb, tethers flowing out and grabbing the various Hive around them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She could sense her Light pressing down on the tethered Hive and was glad to see that her shot was close enough to include Ir Yut,. The Deathsinger looked a bit stressed now that both Izuku AND Mikumo had engaged her in combat, with Katsuki keeping an Ogre off of them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She was about to head forward and try to assist in Shoto’s revival when a green blur shot past her, landing in front of the Ghost. She was about to fire when she saw that it was Izuku, a small green sphere coating his hand as he touched Fuyumi, who instantly revived Shoto.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She could almost sense how the green orb was absorbing the ambient Darkness in the room, redirecting it from Fuyumi and allowing for a faster revive.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku nodded to her before his head whipped back to Ir Yut, and he shot towards her again. Yuura was left watching him for a moment before she pushed herself back into action, using her Light to vaporise an Acolyte as Shoto got his bearings again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The kid was a solid fighter, and his powers were… intriguing, and incredibly unsettling.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku hadn’t fought this hard in a while.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The tower had been a place where he wasn’t constantly on edge, or listening for the next ambush, or source of food, or avoiding the detections spells the Hive used at random times.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The tower had been a refuge, a safe place. He was glad that he could call it home and glad that he could help the people who lived there as well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But something about this… about diving back into the Hellmouth, with true power behind him, was intoxicating. The thrum of adrenaline through his body let him push himself further, faster.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If he didn’t have his Quirk up as much as it could be, he might have thought something was messing with his head. But he knew he was safe. He had been for years now. The Hive wouldn’t get in his head as long as he lived.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He let his train of thought dissipate as he allowed his muscle memory and instincts to take over his movements, ducking down and weaving his way through a blast of energy that Ir Yut sent his way. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>With a yell, he pushed off the floor, launching himself into the air, and twisted to gather momentum. He pulled his arms down and slashed at Ir Yut, smirking as his twin blades carved deep gouges into Ir Yut’s chest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Hive Witch shrieked in pain and panic, and Izuku grabbed onto the feelings and sent them through his legs, launching himself back into the air as he landed, another swing of his swords carving a deep line through her hip.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He pushed off of her as he felt Light coming towards him, dodging out of the way as Mikumo slammed into her, Arc Light flowing over his body as his fists landed squarely on her forehead. The bone that made up her ridged ‘crown’ cracked and disintegrated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku almost laughed as he pulled on the pain and fear and panic and <em>dread </em>that Ir Yut was feeling, sheathing one of his swords and pulling out his Hand Cannon. With a word that hurt his throat to pronounce, a single bullet appeared in the chamber, lighting up Izuku’s surroundings with green light.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b> <em>“YOU WILL DIE THIS DAY, FOUL THIEF OF POWER!”</em> </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku smirked, ignoring Ir Yut’s shout, both of them knowing she was about to die. He raised his Hand Cannon, the sights landing on her head right between the three lights of her eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>“No, I don’t think I will, </b> <b> <em>bitch</em> </b> <b>.”</b></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>&lt; B O O M &gt;</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo watched as the entirety of Ir Yut’s head just… vanished.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was no sound to go with it, just the vibrations through the air as the head of the Hive Witch was blown apart, showering the wall behind it with green sludge. A bright green line of power reached from the tip of Izuku’s Hand Cannon to the wall.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not even a moment later, he watched as Izuku rushed over to the corpse, which had now fallen to the floor, swapping his Hand Cannon for his second sword, before plunging both of them into Ir Yut’s body.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He noticed the Hive around them quickly falling, his fireteam suddenly finding it a lot easier to kill the Hive now that the Witch was dead. Had she been protecting them somehow? That was troubling. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was about to signal his fireteam to group up again when his light sparked in response to a sudden surge of Darkness coming from Izuku. Whipping around, his hand going to his Auto Rifle, Mikumo’s eyes widened as he saw green light coiling around Izuku’s blades as he chanted something, with the strips of green light entering the back of his hands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Vanguard had warned him that Izuku might do this, but seeing it happen in front of him, seeing the Sword Logic at work, right before his eyes… it was scary. But it was interesting. Mikumo almost wished that he had his notepad on him so he could do a proper analysis of what seemed to be happening to the boy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But alas, the information on the pad was too precious to risk it becoming damaged in combat. It didn’t last for very long though, as the lines of green seemed to fizzle for a moment, like a bad signal, before dropping completely.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He saw Izuku yell something. The boy looked angry, but Mikumo didn’t know what he was saying. The boy sheathed his swords and walked back to the crystal room and motioned for them to follow him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo nodded to his fireteam, patting Shoto on the shoulder as he passed. He had seen the man get dropped and was glad that Izuku had been able to help revive him quickly. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He saw that Izuku had one hand on the large green crystal that Ir Yut had been guarding, and watched as the green fields that had blocked this room off reappeared. Thankful for the short minute of respite Izuku was giving them, Mikumo allowed his Light to dim a bit, recharging what he could.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He gave Yuura a quick hug, bonking the front of their helmets together, before moving over to where Izuku had sat down. He placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder, trying to ignore the tingling feeling he got being so close to someone who was both his dimensional doppelganger and a wielder of Hive Magic.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The boy just nodded at him, saying something Mikumo couldn’t hear before standing back up and stretching out his shoulders. As he did, Mikumo got the other Hydras’ attention, waiting for them to complete their weapon checks. He knew that they had to be in perfect working order; otherwise, things were gonna go really bad really quickly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After giving Izuku the go-ahead, the boy turned back to the giant crystal and pushed both of his hands forward, and Mikumo watched as they sank into the crystal as if it were water. Izuku seemed to be chanting something, his arms lighting up with green fire again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As he did, the crystal started to glow slightly as well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And then Mikumo felt it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Darkness around him nearly tripled as the giant green orb floating in the sky pulsed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bits and pieces of rock and bones seemed to construct themselves underneath it, forming what looked like an archway.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And then <b><em>he </em></b>appeared.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku roared as he pulled his swords out of Ir Yut’s chest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> It hadn’t worked! </em> At least, it hadn’t worked as well as he had wanted it to. He had made these swords with the idea that he could bypass the Sword Logic’s chant entirely, gaining strength immediately from anything he killed or stabbed with his blades.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They were meant to be leeches, something that would help him drain the strength of his enemies quickly, but they were imperfect. Inefficient. He could tell that he had only been able to siphon away around 45% of what he knew Ir Yut’s power to be, the other 55% escaping his grasp in one final act of spite from the wretched Hive Witch.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It confused him. The swords had done perfectly well at absorbing the entirety of the Hive’s power that he had killed so far. Perhaps the more powerful they were, the less efficient the transfer was? That was something he would have to investigate and fix when they got back to the Tower.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He sheathed his swords, a scowl on his face as he walked past Mikumo, back towards the Summoning Crystal’s chamber. The other guardians followed him, and even though they were hidden behind their helmets, Izuku could sense how uncomfortable they were at the moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He understood that the Hellmouth was aptly named.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He sat down next to the summoning crystal before tapping it lightly and using his magic to make it activate the wards that protected the room. He would allow the Guardians a brief respite. They needed it for the coming battle. Even if they didn’t, they deserved it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He saw Mikumo pat one of his fireteam on the shoulder, the one who had been killed and revived during the fight. Izuku was honestly impressed that only one of them had died, and only once. Izuku went back to his rest for a moment before he felt Mikumo’s hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The man wasn’t able to speak to him at the moment, but Izuku could feel the question of <em> ‘are you ok?’ </em> from his body language. He nodded at him, smiling softly. “I am fine, Lightborn. The death of Ir Yut fills me with much anger and much joy. I only need a moment to collect myself.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He knew the man couldn’t hear him, but Mikumo nodded anyway before helping the rest of the Hydras with their weapon checks. Izuku checked his own Hand Cannon, found nothing wrong with it, and rested his hands on the pommels of his swords. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He inhaled, allowing the power that had been gathered from Ir Yut, and into the blades, to flow into him, refuelling him and making his own power much larger. Ir Yut was a league above him, and he wouldn’t have been able to beat her without Mikumo’s help.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was humbling to know how much more he had to grow before he could be formidable enough on his own, and it also meant that even the 45% of her strength he had drained was a significant boost.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He looked over and saw Mikumo and the Hydras standing up, looking ready to go. Izuku nodded to them and turned to the Summoning Crystal. It was time to begin. He reached out and put his palms on the crystal, pushing his magic forwards to touch the magic of the crystal.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He felt heat on his arms and could sense the crystal accepting his commands. His eyes were closed, so he couldn’t truly see it, but he could <em> feel </em> Crota’s Gate forming on the platform underneath his Oversoul.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With a final push, Izuku felt the Gate click into place, and almost instantly he pulled his arms out of the crystal as a wave of Darkness washed over him, one of the strongest sources of Darkness he had ever felt manifesting nearby.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At that moment he knew it had worked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b> <em>Crota had arrived.</em> </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p><b>“IMPURE WRETCH! SCUM OF THE TUNNELS! YOU </b> <b> <em>DARE</em> </b> <b> SUMMON ME?”</b></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku winced as Crota’s voice boomed through the cavern. A quick glance made it clear that even the Guardians had felt it; the vibrations Crota released when he talked were powerful enough to shake the air around them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Izuku let his magic back into the Crystal in front of him, allowing the green fields to dissipate. The screeches of approaching Thralls and Acolytes echoed through the chamber.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As the field dropped, the Guardians immediately started to push forward, and Izuku pulled his swords back out and moved ahead of them. Moments after the barrier fell, the first group of Thralls came into view, their heads glowing with green energy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku scowled and sheathed one of his swords, pulled out his Hand Cannon, and shot one of them in the head, watching as it exploded. The force of its ignition pushed the others back, making them suffer the same fate as the first, with the entire group detonating, leaving behind green sludge on the floor.</p>
<p>‘</p>
<p>He hopped over the sludge and turned the corner, decapitating an Acolyte as he did, and blinked as he felt another surge of power run through him. That Acolyte had been more powerful than the others so far. Why?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Letting the guardians cover him, he turned back and discovered why. The yellow stripe across the Acolyte’s chest marked it as one of Crota’s spawn. Izuku had only seen a few ‘yellow bars,’ as he called them, but they were usually stronger than their peers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“ARISE, BEARER OF BLADES! SMITE THE LIGHTBORN! BRING ME THE CORPSE OF THE UNTHINKING ONE!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku growled in response to that, watching as doors on either side of the arena opened up. Hive Knights with black exoskeletons exited the doorways, red fire showing underneath the cracks in their armour.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Planted into the ground were swords almost as tall as Izuku, made of the same black and red that the Knights were. <b>Swordbearers</b>. Some of the toughest Knights in Crota’s brood. Izuku would never have been able to take one, let alone two of them by himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But he wasn’t by himself anymore.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rockets fired from behind Izuku, six of them all slamming into one of the sword bearers, almost vaporizing it and leaving only its blade behind, stabbed into the ground. Izuku rushed over to the sword and pulled Mikumo alongside him, pointing to the blade, miming a swinging motion, before pointing at the Guardian.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo nodded, and there was a flash of Arc Light as he pulled the cleaver out of the floor. It glowed in response to Mikumo’s Light, as if angry at the being who was wielding it but unable to do anything about it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo darted off to the other Swordbearer, the cleavers slamming together as it brought up its own sword to block Mikumo’s slash. Mikumo pushed off its chest, landing on the ground as more rockets slammed into the second Swordbearer, which suffered the same fate as its partner.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This time, Izuku pointed at Katsuki, who nodded back at him, putting his rifle away as he ripped the sword from the ground. Izuku didn’t watch him, though, as he was too busy dodging the slashes of a new swarm of Thralls that had been released.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As the last Thrall died, he looked up at Crota, who was just pacing around on his platform, watching as Izuku and the Hydras fought. Why wasn’t he fighting? Arrogance? Confidence? Whatever the reason, Izuku was glad for it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Crota was underestimating them, underestimating <em>him</em>. Izuku would make sure he regretted that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku dodged out of the way of a regular Knight’s sword, planting his feet and diving between the Knight’s legs, slashing both of the Knight’s legs. The Knight tumbled down to the ground, and Izuku leapt onto its back, plunging both of his blades into the gaps of its armour.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was about to continue when he found himself getting tackled by one of the Guardians, Mina, right as the purple beam of an Ogre’s eye blast shot through where he had been standing. He nodded to her as she readied her rocket launcher, firing off a shot at the Ogre as soon as she was able to.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Letting the Guardians focus on the Ogres that had appeared at the Swordbearers’ death, Izuku gritted his teeth and jumped. Pain shot down his legs as he rocketed upwards until he landed on the platform that Crota was on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He watched as both Mikumo and Katsuki followed him right after, the Hive swords still in their grasps. Izuku nodded to himself, snarling at Crota. Crota roared in response, slamming the floor with the tip of his sword.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“YOU DARE? YOU DARE STAND BEFORE THE HIVE PRINCE, IN DEFIANCE OF HIM?”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku roared as best he could in response, sheathing his swords as he beat his own chest. <b>“I dare! You will die this day, Crota!”</b></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The growl that came from Crota at that made the floor beneath them rumble, but Izuku and the other two Guardians stood their ground. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“YOU ARE AS MUCH OF A FOOL AS YOU ARE A THIEF!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku immediately opened a small portal to his right and dove into it, narrowly avoiding Crota’s sword as it slammed into the ground where he had been standing. He appeared out of the exit to his portal on top of the sword and started to run up it as Mikumo and Katsuki flanked the Prince.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku felt the sword shift beneath his feet and he jumped straight up, opening another small portal and dropping down onto Crota’s head, slamming both of his swords into the crown of his skull.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Crota roared and swatted at Izuku with his free hand, but Izuku dropped down to the small of the Prince’s back, holding onto one of the ridges of his exo-skeleton. But while he hadn’t done much damage, he had been a fine distraction.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>B A M!</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku watched as both of the Hive swords impacted Crota’s chest, the green shield around his body blinking for a moment before stabilizing, albeit with a weaker glow. Izuku immediately dropped off of Crota’s back and into another Portal, appearing back near where he had started, and dragged the two Guardians back towards him, swords and all, with his magic.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He gave them a thumbs-up before creating a ball of fire in his hands and throwing it up to Crota’s eyes, forcing it to latch onto his face. He knew he wasn’t powerful enough to actually damage Crota with his spells, but the fire over his eyes should make it harder to see.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“WEAKLING! YOU ARE WEAK, UNTHINKING ONE! CAN YOU NOT DEFEAT ME WITH YOUR OWN STRENGTH!?”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku roared back. <b>“I don’t need to! My allies' strength is my own, and my strength is my allies!”</b></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“BLASPHEMY!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku ignored him as Crota seemed to start swinging his swords around with little care for who got hit. Izuku, while dodging the attacks, even saw a few unfortunate Knights and a Wizard get struck by one of their Prince’s swings.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku was about to continue fighting when he saw Crota stop moving, falling to a knee as a Green light shot into the sky and into the orb above them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The green crystal above Crota, the Hive Prince’s Oversoul, started to pulse. Immediately, Izuku used his portals on all of the Guardians he could see and sent them to one of the platforms further back before waving at them and shooting the Oversoul.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They seemed to understand and immediately started firing at the Oversoul, and Izuku could see it was working. He could feel the Darkness that was trying to build up around it failing to reach it as the pressure of gunfire and Light was put on it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eventually, the glowing stopped, and the line of green light shot back down to Crota, who roared, but was still on one knee. Izuku rushed forward, motioning for Mikumo and Katsuki to follow him because he had noticed something.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Crota’s shield was gone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Whatever he had done to his Oversoul, having it fail had cost him the shield that made him seem invincible. Izuku yelled in triumph as both Mikumo’s and Katsuki’s swords slammed into Crota’s chest, doing visible damage and making the Hive Prince roar in pain.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku grabbed onto that pain and relished the amount of it he was getting from Crota, and how good it felt to have helped make the damnable Prince bleed. He must have relished it a bit too much though, because soon enough he found himself coming into contact with Crota’s fist. Pain spiked all over his body as Crota punched him, sending him flying backwards.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He roared in pain as he landed near the back of the giant platform, willing his broken body to regenerate, using his new stores of power and the pain of Crota himself to fuel his magic. His flesh stitched itself back together, his bones snapped into place, and after mere seconds, Izuku was back and ready to keep fighting, albeit without a good chunk of his energy now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Crota had no such luck. The damage that the Guardians had done with the swords, infused with Light, seemed to have struck the exposed Crota badly, as the Prince wasn’t regenerating. Or maybe that was the trade-off for such a powerful shield?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. If the Prince couldn’t heal, then they were going to win this. Izuku could feel it in his bones.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“DAMNABLE WELPS! DIE ALREADY!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A wave of Crota’s hand had doors opening all over the arena, Hive spilling out of them like a flood. Luckily, most of them were Thralls, but there were a lot more Knights than Izuku had ever seen in one place before.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku looked over to check on Mikumo and Katsuki and froze. Katsuki had somehow been killed while Izuku was regenerating, probably from one of Crota’s wild slashes after he recovered enough to attack again, and his Ghost was too far out of the way for any of the Guardians to go after at the moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo’s Hive sword had been snapped in half, leaving the Guardian with just the handle and a jagged edge around half a meter out from the hilt. But that wasn’t what Izuku was worried about. Mikumo gave him a pained smile, his helmet dropping off of his head, damaged beyond repair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo’s mind was now unprotected. If Crota succeeded with his next Oversoul attack, there was a good chance that Mikumo would die. Quite possibly his final death. Izuku turned back to Crota and snarled.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> He wasn’t going to let that happen. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Sound rushed back into Mikumo’s ears very suddenly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He had been struck by one of Crota’s attacks, but it was only a glancing blow. He had been much luckier than Katsuki, who had been killed by the attack, and his ghost Mitsuki was currently doing her best to hide behind the rest of the Hydras, unable to revive him at the moment due to the overwhelming pressure of the ambient Darkness around them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He looked down at the sword in his grasp and saw that the sword had been snapped in half. He let it fall to the ground, a scowl on his face. He felt the air around him gaining a static charge as the familiar sound of Arc Light crackled around him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Izuku! How much more do we need to do to take this guy down?!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku glanced over in his direction, his face twisted in a snarl. “Not much! A few more hits comparable to that last one should be enough for me to finish the job!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo nodded, doing a quick scan of his surroundings. His sword was gone and wouldn’t be much help, but Katsuki had apparently been able to throw his sword to the side before dying. In a flash of Arc Light, Mikumo darted over and grabbed the sword, letting his Arc Light flow through the blade.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He turned back to Izuku and smiled. “All right then! Let's do this!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Izuku darted forward, both of his swords unsheathed and covered in raging green fire, Mikumo followed him, the Hive sword at his hip leaving a trail of blue lightning in his wake. Both of them dove to either side of another slam from Crota’s sword, and Mikumo ignored the ground-shakingly loud roar that Crota released.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He saw Izuku disappear in a puff of green and black smoke, appearing behind Crota and jabbing his swords into the newly-regenerated shield Crota had up. Izuku yelled out in the Hive tongue, and his swords gained an ethereal glow as Crota’s shield dropped a bit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It seemed that when Izuku had called his swords ‘leeches,’ he was being literal. Mikumo used the distraction to place an orb of Arc Light right on Crota’s chest, dodging the swipe that came his way as Arc energy pulsed over Crota’s shield.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was about to cheer when he heard Crota yell something else. Izuku yelled something in response, and suddenly Mikumo found himself getting flung backwards. He landed with a thud, rolling to a stop, his head pulsing with a headache like none he had felt before.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku landed next to him on his feet and dragged him upright. Mikumo nodded to him and was about to thank him when his throat dried up. Izuku was standing in front of him, but this time with only one sword in his hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hand, single.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku’s left arm was gone.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“EVISCERATION!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku watched as Arc energy pulsed over Crota’s shield, and Crota roared out that one word. Izuku immediately grabbed himself with a portal and placed the exit in front of Mikumo.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Bulwark!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He thrust his left arm forward, a spike of pain rushing through it as a shield formed in front of Mikumo, protecting him from the pulse of energy that came from Crota’s shield. The shield seemed to hold for a moment, before a cold chill hit his shoulder, the pain in his arm disappearing as the shield collapsed, sending Mikumo flying backwards, but unharmed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He rushed over to Mikumo and pulled him up, finding it weird that his left arm seemed to not respond to that order, only his right arm reaching down to help the man up. “Are you all right? My shield should have been enough to stop most of that attack from getting to your head.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He noticed that Mikumo was staring at his left arm, a shocked look on his face. “What? Is something wro—oh.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku looked down at the stump of his arm, which had been cut off right in the middle of his bicep. It was leaking a little bit of blood, but his supernatural regeneration seemed to have stopped most of the bleeding. It didn’t seem to be re-growing his arm though.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> “Are you all right, kid?” </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku heard Mikumo’s question, but it sounded like it was in the background of a loud room. Izuku turned slowly, facing Crota, who had apparently sacrificed a bit of his health to perform that move.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A cold look slipped onto Izuku's face as he willed his arm to close up, the small jab of pain in his shoulder as it did so nothing compared to the rage he felt boiling within him. “Mikumo. I’m going to try and bait him into dropping his shield for another attack. Be ready to end this.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He glanced backwards and saw Mikumo give him a little nod before moving over and picking the Hive sword back up. Izuku took a deep breath and dug down into his supply of energy, wrangling all of what he had left.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Crota! You coward! You speak of fighting with your own strength but hide behind your shield! Fight me head-on, if you dare!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku didn’t even really get a chance to realize how much of a bad idea calling the Crown Prince of the Hive a coward was before he was using a portal to dodge another swing of Crota’s sword. He gave Mikumo a small glance back to check if he was all right and was glad to see that he had dodged as well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>“COWARD! </b> <b> <em>COWARD!</em> </b> <b> YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME IN SUCH A MANNER, FILTH?! I WILL SMITE YOU AND CLAIM BACK ALL OF THE POWER YOU STOLE!”</b></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku watched as Crota’s shield fell before realizing that it hadn’t fallen, exactly. Crota’s sword had become a pillar of pure Darkness, glowing with fire of such potency that Izuku felt like his own was a drop in an ocean in comparison.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“DIE, HUMAN THIEF!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Crota reared his sword up, ready to swing his blade horizontally, Izuku, for a moment, felt the cold dread of his incoming death. Was this how it was going to end? At the hands of the Hive Prince?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku couldn’t think of a worse, or more fitting, end to his time in this reality.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b> <em>S C H E E - V O O M P</em> </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That noise…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku opened his eyes and saw a small orb of Void Light at Crota’s feet. Where had he seen that before?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> “MIKUMO! IZUKU! GET HIM!” </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Yuura’s voice washed over him, the ball of Void light activated, latching onto Crota’s body with a purple tendril. Immediately, the glow of Crota’s sword faded as the Hive Prince let out a roar that shook the very air around them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku could feel it. The Nightstalker’s tether, suppressing Crota’s attack, free to latch on with his shield down, relinquishing Crota of his indomitable defence and his unstoppable attack. Mikumo appeared at Izuku’s side, sparkling with Arc energy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Izuku, with me! We’re finishing this!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before Izuku even registered the words, he and Mikumo were sprinting forward towards the weakened Prince. Crota’s armour was cracked, his glow was gone, and his flesh was twitching with exertion. Izuku knew they could do this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A wave of Thralls appeared in front of Crota as a Wizard that the other Guardians were fighting noticed what was happening with their Prince. Izuku ignored them, jumping up and using the closest one as a springboard into the air, aiming directly for Crota’s face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Pain shot down his arm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo appeared in the air to his right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Pure darkness, everything Izuku had left, pooled into his fist, his entire body giving off ethereal green fire.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mikumo’s body sparked with more Arc energy than Izuku had ever seen a single Guardian use.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Both of them reared their fists back as they neared Crota’s face, the Hive Prince staring up at them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku could smell the smallest seed of fear from the Prince, and it was heavenly. As the air in between Izuku and Mikumo’s fist seemed to chill, the temperature between them dropping rapidly as the air seemed to crystallize as Izuku and Mikumo’s powers intertwined, they finally reached Crota.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Emboldened by Crota’s fear, Izuku let out a battle cry that was one of the things he could remember most of his old world.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“SMAAAAAAAAAASH!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>Here's a commission I got done for the end of this scene! Thank you to Celerior on Twitter for drawing this for me!</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>How did you like that? Please drop a comment and tell me your favourite part!</p>
<p>If you liked this chapter, you should check out my other fics on my profile! </p>
<p>Thank you so much for reading!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoyed!</p><p>Izuku’s quirk seems to be very helpful! Next chapter should be out soon!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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